The House of Skywalker
by DorkDamsel
Summary: Mara/Luke story that takes place in an alternate universe where Dooku didn't die like an idiot and escaped. Anakin never crosses over to the dark side. Padme still dies  tnx to Grievous , the twins survive. Rated M because it gets pretty dark later on.
1. Dead Woman

**The House of Skywalker**

**AN**: This is a Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker fanfic that I wrote a long, long, loooooong time ago. 5 or 6 years ago to be precise. I never published it anywhere because I thought at the time it was STOOPID. It was just a story I came up with and liked to fool around with it. I recently discovered it on a dusty old dvd. I didn't realise at the time that I had actually written SO much. So it seemed like such a huge waste to me to just let it degrade on that dvd until it's unsalvageable. I'm also amazed at what my 20 year old self could come up with. It's very rough around the edges. Should it generate any kind of interest, I will finish it. The story is 90% done, just needs one final chapter. So I'll publish a chapter every couple of days and if people like it, I might even do a sequel.

The action takes place in an Alternate Universe where Count Dooku didn't stand there like an idiot waiting to get his head chopped off in Revenge of the Sith. He escaped. Palpatine never managed to turn Anakin. But when Dooku escaped, there was one nasty consequence. Amidala was attacked. The story begins right after the unfortunate event.

**Disclaimer:** George Lucas owns all the characters, except for Mara Jade who was sired from the brilliant and horny mind of Timothy Zahn.

**Chapter 1 - Dead Woman**

_If you, beloved, my love,_  
><em>if you have died,<em>  
><em>all the leaves will fall on my breast,<em>  
><em>it will rain upon my soul night and day,<em>  
><em>the snow will melt my heart,<em>  
><em>I shall walk with cold and fire and death and snow,<em>  
><em>my feet will want to march toward where you sleep,<em>  
><em>but<em>  
><em>I shall go on living.<em>  
>Pablo Neruda<p>

The two entrance doors slammed open as Obi Wan entered the hospital, breathless. He headed for the Emergency wing, where Mace Windu and Yoda were waiting for him. He had received a com message over 14 hours prior, announcing that Senator Amidala had been admitted to the hospital, in critical condition. The message was from Master Yoda, and he chose to ended with "Need you, Anakin does".

Obi Wan had never seen the two master Jedis looking quite as sad as they did now. More then that, he could feel their sorrow. He could also feel in the back of his mind his friend's immense feeling of loss.

- How… he started to ask.

- She was attacked in her apartement by Grievous' droids, Windu explained. Somehow she managed to get to the shuttle bay and grab a ship but they shot her down. Anakin try to get to her but it was too late. The doctors say… there was nothing they could do for her.

- Palpatine, gone now he is, Yoda began. Eliminated him, Master Windu did. The threat no longer exists.

- Wasn't there some way she could've lived, Obi Wan suddenly revolted. They have cures for everything nowadays. Maybe a bacta tank or… or…

**- **Her sternum was crushed Obi Wan… the best they could do is perform an emergency c-section and rescue the babies, Windu tried to calm him down.

- The babies, Obi Wan whispered suddenly realizing something.

He approached a glass screen that separated the hallway where they had been standing from the maternity. He saw two lovely new borns nestled in their respective metal cots. They were being taken care of by two nurse droids. Obi Wan noticed that they weren't crying or laughing or reacting in any way. They were just laying there, quiet, with their big blue eyes staring directly at him. Like they knew…

- Anakin is the father, isn't he?

- Yes, Yoda answered looking up, with a strange spark in his eyes. Strong in the force are they, Luke and Leia… even now.

- Anakin and Padme married right after the attack on Geonosis, they didn't tell anyone, Windu elaborated. We always suspected but…

Obi Wan lowered his head in frustration. "Damnit, the war is over. We should be celebrating. Not mourning." he thought.

- Where is he?

- In the hallway in the back, Windu answered after he and Yoda exchanged a few awkward looks. He hasn't moved since… since it happened.

Obi Wan left the two master Jedi to search for his former padawan. The hallways were empty, and they smelled of antiseptics. The atmosphere itself was sterile. Although this was a hospital, there was no life in these hallways.

He found him slumped down; his back to a wall. His arms were crossed over his knees and his forehead was resting on them. Obi Wan calmly crouched down beside him. He wasn't going to push. He was just going to stand there, besides his friend… his brother. Hoping his presence would be enough to bring Anakin out of the pit of despair he had crashed in.

They sat like that for quite a while. Obi Wan stared at the moon through the window. He saw it making her way through the sky, without a worry in the world, just like it always does. "That's the way of the world really. Life and death, movement and non-movement, matter and antimatter. All doing their dance since eons… only thing that changes is our perception of them… "

- The last thing I need right now Master, Anakin interrupted his train of thoughts, is a lecture, he finished raising his head and staring at the same moon. And before you say it, I know you're sorry. Everybody's sorry. I'm sorry too… for so many things.

He sighed… and suddenly got up.

- I'm going to the Senate to search for any of Palpatine's plans, he said without feeling. He must've had something prepared for the long term.

- Anakin, wait… Obi Wan called out. It's alright if you… want to mourn.

- Mourn? Anakin asked turning around. How can I do that? The young man approached the older until their faces were separated by a few centimeters. There are no sand people here for me to kill….

- Don't say that… You have to deal with your feelings.

- Don't _you _tell me about my feelings! Anakin shouted grabbing Obi Wan by the collar and throwing him against the wall. His eyes burning with rage. Haven't you been listening? Everything that was good and decent in me died with her. She was my life! I have nothing to live for… except …. Except my promise to her, my duty. As a husband, as a Jedi knight, as a father. That's it, he said calming down and released the older man, walking away.

- Anakin! Obi Wan shouted after him. You can't do this alone!

- I can _only _do it alone, the Jedi said, exiting the hospital.

- Wait!.

Obi Wan ran to catch up to him.

- You haven't even seen your children.

- They'll be well taking care of in the hospital for a while. Once they are ready to leave, I'll have them sent to the temple. We must begin their Jedi training immediately.

- But… you haven't _seen_ them, Obi Wan repeated emphasizing the word.

Anakin paused and stared at the moon. Obi Wan thought that maybe he had reached him, until Skywalker spoke again:

- I promised Padme I'd take care of them. I never promised I'd love them. Besides, he added with bitterness, that would be against the rules.

He boarded his ship and closed the hatch. Obi Wan watched his former padawan sore to the sky in his metal shell, running away from his feelings and his family, racing into the unknown.

...

Several days later, The Jedi council were holding a meeting to discuss the latest development of the war. Anakin insisted he would be present, although Yoda and Windu strongly urged him to take some time off. Amidala had just been buried. Thousands of people attended her funeral and shed their tears together. Only Anakin didn't cry once, but kept a grave face.

- So Palpatine and Darth Sidious were the same person, Ki Adi Mundi began.

- Yes, Mace Windu answered. He set in motion a grand scheme to come to power, one that we followed blindly. He was right in our midst all along, and we didn't notice it.

- Worries me, this does. The Sith defeated we thought to be before. Prepare ourselves we should, for the worst. Count Dooku is still free.

- He has no droids, no forces, no support from the Republic or the Federalists, Mace Windu offered.

- A man with nothing to lose, Obi Wan intervened, is the most dangerous kind of man there is.

- Even more so when the Dark Side is involved, Yoda agreed.

Anakin listened silently, with Obi Wan looking at him worried.


	2. Epiphany

**Chapter 2 - Epiphany**

_I am nothing more than  
>A little boy inside<br>That cries out for attention  
>Though I always try to hide<br>I talk to you like children  
>Though I don't know how I feel<br>But I know I'll do the right thing  
>If the right thing is revealed.<em>

Staind

- Luke? Am I disturbing you?

Luke Skywalker deactivated his training lightsaber and turned around to see his father standing in the doorway of his room.

- No at all, Anakin. Please, come in.

The 13 year old boy extended his hand and a towel flew into it. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead and his hands. He had been training all evening. Anakin Skywalker awkwardly entered his son's bedroom, a place he rarely visited. Luke noticed he was carrying something in his hand, a small package no bigger then a book.

- I brought you something, Anakin quickly said. I know it has been difficult for you… dealing with Obi Wan's departure. So I thought maybe this would be an appropriate gift.

Luke watched with interest as his father placed what appeared to be a round shaped holographic device on his desk. The man activated it and a hologram representing Jedi Master Qui Gon Jin appeared.

" Hello Luke. I am Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn. Or better yet, an AI based on the teachings of Qui Gon Jin. Your father constructed me years ago by integrating master Jin's teachings into an integrated matrix of microprocessors. That along with other interactive features makes me the perfect confident and councilor. He has used my advice himself for years now, but thought it was the time you shared my wisdom. I look forward to our conversations together."

- Exactly how interactive are you? Luke asked.

- I don't mean to gloat, but I think I'm a better conversationalist then C3PO.

Luke chuckled slightly and then turned to look at his father.

- Thank you. Is there something else? Luke asked with a bit of anxiety, like he was waiting for something.

- Yes… I spoke to Master Secura and she'll be handling your training from now on. Report to her first thing in the morning for your new assignments.

- Oh, master Secura… That is good, the boy said but his father felt his disappointment, almost like it was his own.

- What is it Luke?

- I have nothing but respect for Master Secura, and I would be honored to be her padawan…

- But?

- But… I thought that… maybe you could be my master now.

Anakin fidgeted slightly and looked around, almost as if he was trying to read on the walls what he should say.

- Luke… you know I have so little time as it is, with Leia's training and my own duties...

- I understand, Luke added quickly.

- And then there's Count Dooku and rumors about his Sith Academy…

- No, I understand, the boy said again, louder.

- … I just want you too…

- I said "I understand"! What more do you want? A written apology! Luke snapped, throwing his father what could only be described as a death glare.

Anakin was taken aback by his reaction but quickly retaliated.

- I will only accept that uncalled for reaction because I know it is not your true nature.

" What do _you_ know about my nature?" Luke thought to himself bitterly, but still apologized. Anakin put his hand on his shoulder.

- Things change Luke. People leave, they die, they change themselves. This is the way of the universe. You understand why you I don't want you to get [i]to [/i] attached? I'm only trying to protect you, take care of you. You'll see that Obi Wan leaving was probably for the best. You will be a great Jedi… as long as you learn to detach yourself from your feelings. They cloud your judgment.

- I understand.

- Good. Now take good care of Qui Gon Jin and he'll take care of you, Anakin said turning around and walking out the door. Good night Luke.

Luke stared at the hologram for a good couple of minutes and then finally thought of a question.

- Qui Gon Jin… Tell me your honest opinion. Will I ever be as _detached_ from my feelings as my father is?

- The true question Luke is… do you _want_ to be?

- That is not an honest opinion. That is another _question_.

- I never said I'm a perfect program.

**AN:** I hope the chapter makes sense but in case it doesn't, Obi Wan was Luke's master and he left the Order, to do his sexy hermit shtick. Why he left? Well I hope I get to explain that in the sequel should there be one. But for now I just wanted to give you a look at how the relationship between Anakin and Luke went.


	3. Fire

**AN **– And here we go. Takes place about 10 years after the events in the previous chapter and brings us to present time. It's also the introduction of Mara Jade. Or rather, Alternate Mara Jade. :)

**Chapter 3 - Fire**

_She moves and it's fire_

_Fire underwater;  
>Speaks of its flame <em>

_She speaks my name.  
>Well they all really want you<br>If only you that wanted them.  
><em>

_How could I have seen?  
>Always she's driving. <em>

_How could I have known?  
>Right through the strangest calling. <em>

_I should have known.  
>See how she's driving me down. <em>

Remy Zero

Luke Skywalker awoke from his meditation puzzled. "Why would I want to relive that particular memory?" he asked himself. He took a shower and got dressed. Soon the ship he was travelling on would reach it's destination. The Jedi had made his last transmission more then 30 hours ago. This was the first long term undercover mission he had ever been assigned to, and he couldn't wait to finish it and start another.

He had been shielded from getting his hands dirty long enough, because of his last name. But in these past weeks he had been living another life. That of Grafir Corona, weapons dealer from the Outer Rim. And Grafir had a passion for purchasing slaves from exotic species. Which is why his identity was perfect for the young Jedi's mission.

Bringing down the biggest slave trading ring in the galaxy and its leader, Ragadat Bin.

He looked himself in the mirror, feeling his fake beard. It made him look older and yet he noticed that he didn't look at all like his father. Anakin Skywalker… the man behind the chancellor and behind every major decision the Senate had made in the past 20 years. The man everybody compared him too, even if they didn't want to admit it.

The ship dropped out of hyperspace, in the system of Besered. Several shakes and trembles later, it was connected to Ragadat's cruiser, ironically called "The Liberator". The room's com panel activated and Ragadat's image appeared. The middle-aged orange-skined Falleen spoke in a friendly, yet sensibly superior tone:

"My dear guests. Please, join me on the Liberator's Observation Deck for refreshments before we start the auction. I feel we should get to know each other before doing business. I shall be waiting. " The message ended and Luke turned off the com-panel. It was meant to sound like a request, but it was really an order. Ragadat wanted to inspect his clients before they got a chance to inspect the goods.

Right on queue, there was a knock on the door and two armed mercenaries were waiting to escort him to the Observation deck. He complied and followed them through the Liberator's passageways and passarels, looking around and planning for a future escape route. They passed by a computer room, where he made a mental note to return and download all the information.

The observation deck was lavishly decorated as if for some high class ball. Exotic flowers had been placed at every corner and on every table. The ceiling panels had been removed and you could see the stars up close. To the left of the room, shone the star Besered itself, bathing everything in an orange light. The Liberator was flying in orbit around the star, so you could practically see the corona and the solar flares. Serene music played in the background.

"All in all, Ragadat knows how to create an atmosphere" Luke thought to himself. Corrupt nobles were enjoying themselves, while _almost_ naked waitresses and waiters served to their every need. Luke stood aside, in a corner, with a simple glass of wine, watching this decadent scene unfold. He didn't care about these people one way or another. All he was interested in was finishing the assignment and then go back home to train some more, and then start the whole thing all over again. His mind worked and planned and analyzed data, and yet he couldn't be more detached from what was going on around him. Somebody needed to catch the bad guys. He was it.

He noticed the slave lord himself was nowhere to be seen, probably watching everything from afar. He scanned the room, looking for hidden surveillance cameras. He stopped when his eyes caught something…

A female form, leaning on a railing, staring at Besered. There were other human females there, but this one was all alone. No servants, no entourage, no nothing. For some reason. his curiosity got the best of him, so he approached her, cautiously, making it look like he simply wondered there by accident or drawn by the view.

The view of the sun of course…

She had her back to him. As he was getting closer, he noticed she had long red-gold hair, that fell down her back. He couldn't make out what she was wearing, except for a gown-like skirt that covered her legs. Her left hand sported a strange tribal tattoo. It looked like an iridonian design. For a minute, the man in him awakened, and he couldn't help but notice she was curvaceous and therefore very attractive.

- I'm even better from the front, the woman said amused and woke him from his reverie.

She casually turned her head around to look at her admirer. She had a strange smirk on her face and wore special glasses used to shield your eyes from the harmful rays of the star. She analyzed him briefly.

"Human. Male. My age. Attractive. Four out of four. " she quickly calculated and decided the man was worth her time. She turned around and took her glasses off. Luke noticed she had sparkling green eyes. She was wearing a simple black tube top, with a slit down the middle that showed off her cleavage. She wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen… but there was something _intoxicating_ about her. Her skin had a healthy glow and with the sun behind her, she truly looked like fire incarnate.

- Well? she said leaning on her elbows, waiting for him to finish his inspection.

- Indeed you are, he replied casually and closed the distance between them.

- You're not so bad yourself, she said looking him up and down. You should lose the beard though.

- Why do you say that?

- People who wear beards usually have something to hide.

- I'd wager everyone here has something to hide, he said looking around the room again.

- Not from each other, otherwise they wouldn't have been invited.

- That's an interesting tattoo, Luke quickly noted, trying to change the subject. It looks iridonian.

- It is, she said running her right hand over it.

- What does it represent?

- What _can_ it represent in a place like this?

- It looks like an ownership claim.

- Exactly. It says I belong to somebody.

- An iridonian?

- _Maybe_. You know… they say their horns have an arousing quality, almost like an aphrodisiac.

- I heard the same thing about beards.

The woman laughed and Luke felt encouraged.

- And just who do you belong to? he asked getting even closer.

- Wouldn't _you_ like to know? She said very slowly, all the while keeping her subtle feminine smile.

- Yes I would. Maybe I'm interested in buying you.

- You couldn't _afford_ me…

He put his hand beside her hip, on the railing, leaning in. His face was just centimeters away from hers. He could feel a strange heat between them. He didn't have any idea what the hell he was doing or why he was doing it, but this girl was the flame and he was simply the moth drawn to it.

- Try me, he said simply.

She leaned forward to whisper something in his year. He could feel her breath on his skin.

- You would have to sell your _soul_…

She leaned back to look in his eyes one last time, and then pushed him out of the way in order to leave.

- I didn't catch your name, he shouted behind her.

- That's because I didn't _give_ it to you, she shouted back and disappeared into the crowd.

Luke watched her fascinated and then let out a huge breath he didn't know he was holding. He took a big gulp out of his glass of wine and then whispered:

- What a woman… Too bad I'm going to have to throw her in prison.

A huge plasma screen was lowered from above in the middle of the room and Ragadat's image appeared. "Ladies and gentlemen. The auction is about to start. Please head over to the cargo hold."

The Jedi finished his glass of wine and joined the others.


	4. Dirty Little Thing

**Chapter 4 - Dirty Little Thing**

_Can't stop thinking, musta been trippin this evening  
>My mind is racing demons and all of my feelings are numb<br>Yeah and when I roll with my head in the wind  
>And I feel like the king of the<br>Dead men wishin they had gotten together with you girl  
>But you're a dirty little liar with a message of obsession to come<br>You got your head in the clouds and your world's upside down  
>Get away from the life you're living<br>Get away from the man that's stealing your life_

Velvet Revolver

- Ladies and gentlemen… welcome, to this special auction; hosted by, yours truly, Ragadat greeted his guests on top of stage in the back of the cargo hold. Beside him were two human female bodyguards, ready to kill anybody that would get within 10 meters of their master. Behind, giant red curtains, creating the twisted image of a circus ring leader about to unveil the stars of his freak show.

Mercenaries guarded all the exits, while the clients were seated in the middle of the hall. Right in front of their chairs was the made-up stage. Luke had taken a place in the last row. He felt a strong presence in the force… thought it wasn't from one person. It seemed like there were hundreds of low-level force sensitives in the room. The vibrations confused him, until he realized where they came from.

The giant curtains were pulled, and the audience was shown the merchandise itself.

- Here they are, my friends. Over 200 healthy, well fed, ready to be trained slaves. All under the age of 14. We all know what a hassle those adults can be, especially if their memory implants start to malfunction. But these are not just children… they are special. All these children right here, are Force sensitives.

Murmurs and excited whispers ensued. The nobles knew this was a special auction, one that involved children, but this was a complete surprise for most of them. Even for Luke. Ragadat knew how to keep a secret.

- Yes… they can feel the Force, to a limited extent. I have scowered the galaxy for them. Under normal circumstances they would be padawans, but, what is "normal" these days is not as important as what is "fashionable". And a Jedi-slave is most fashionable. Not to mention intoxicating. This is a once in a life time opportunity ladies and gentlemen, to have your own little Jedi knight to do your biding. Now, let's start shall we? First item on our list is a lovely little human boy from Feluccia. Item nr 4696. Age 11. Excellent health. Has manifested such abilites as empathy and spatial awareness. We start the biding at 10 000 credits.

A green eyed boy, with red hair and pimply face took his place on the stage. He had a blank stare and seemed to be indifferent to everything that was happening around him.

"This is madness" Luke thought. The sight of people biding over the soul of that little boy sickened him, but he had to control himself. Soon enough all these people would be in prison, and the children would be given proper homes. After the boy came a little rodian girl, and then another weeyqay boy… Ragadat was practically glowing as the money kept pouring in. He noticed however that Grafir, one of his most promising customers, wasn't biding at all. He signaled a couple of his guards to keep an eye on him.

- Moving on… item 6573. An irodian girl, age 9…

He was interrupted by the cough of the little girl. Her face was covered with several purple colored tattoos and she was quite lovely. But she wouldn't stop coughing. Again the nobles whispered and murmured. The girl was obviously sick, and a sick slave is a worthless slave.

A weequay mercenary stepped on stage and put a gun to her head, saying:

- Stop that.

The girl just coughed louder.

- I said stop it, he said louder this time.

The customers just watched the scene unfold, slightly bored. Luke was getting agitated, feeling the need to act, but he tried to remain calm. He was being watched.

The weequay squeezed the trigger a bit more, as the girl started to tremble. Luke put his hand on his lighstaber, safely tucked away in a secret pocket.

- Please, everybody stay calm. This is just a small setback, Ragdat said waving his hands around.

- You're right, a female voice was heard from behind him. That's a small setback.

A hand snaked around the faleen's neck and a red lightsaber was activated right under his nose. The female was wearing a large black hood that covered most her face.

- But this is a pretty BIG one, the she-warrior concluded.

As the weequay looked up to see what was happening to his boss, a twy'lek dressed a in black robe jumped on stage, activated another lightsaber and cut off the hand that was holding the gun. The mercenary fell to his knees screaming.

Mysterious warriors invaded the room, sliding down from the ceiling using ropes and grappling guns.

Chaos overwhelmed the clients, as they quickly got up to run panicked towards the exits. Luke remained calm, and just got out of sight, to hide in the shadows. The new-comers disarmed the mercenaries and gathered them in a corner. Some of them were carrying red lightsabers. They were obviously Sith but didn't seem very intent on killing _just yet_, so Luke thought it would be best not to intervene. A Jedi would no doubt attract the fire of both parties.

He turned to look at the stage, where the female had released Ragadat, but he was on the ground kneeling next to her feet. His bodyguards performed a series of complicated martial art moves. Flips, dives, uppercuts and kicks, all perfectly synchronized, like a dance routine they had performed a thousand times before. They assumed a fighting stance, ready for combat; strong, confident and defiant.

The female simply waved a hand and the women were thrown against each other and then off the stage, landing on top of each other, unconscious.

The female Sith looked around the cargo hold. Ragadat was at her mercy, her masked warriors had disabled the mercenaries and all the royal figures and nobles were cornered in the middle, staring at the stage, waiting to see what happens. She took her hood off.

Luke couldn't help but stare… It was the woman from before, the woman with the hair the coulor of fire.

"She's a Sith" Luke thought bewildered. "How could I not have sensed it?" Feeling himself at risk he quickly hid in a droid locker, watching the scene unfold through a set of blinders.

The woman was smirking, obviously proud of herself. She had changed her outfit, and now was wearing a black sleeveless dress, with very low cleavage and a strange belt around it. Her hair was braided, but a few shorter bangs encircled her face. One of her warriors, the twy'lek from before, jumped on stage beside her. Two more, a man and a woman, grabbed Ragadat and pushed him on his knees.

- Darth Pyra, we have the situation under control, the twy'lek raported. Should we proceed?

- Not yet, Neron she said and went over to the little girl that was threatened before. She kneeled down beside her giving her something. It looked like an inhaler. The girl quickly grabbed it and breathed in the medicine. She stopped coughing and looked at the woman with a grateful look.

- What's your name, the Sith asked while stroking the girl on the head, almost lovingly.

- Daria.

- Daria… my name is Mara, she continued smiling. You're a beautiful little girl. Listen Daria. I can take you away from here… I can take you somewhere where nobody will ever hurt you. We can teach you how to protect yourself. How to get even with the people that hurt you. Do you want that?

- Yes, the girl answered quickly, like a droid asked to perform one of his assigned tasks.

- Then you have to do something for me… see that man, she said pointing at Ragadat. I want you to kill him.

Daria's look changed from hopeful, to frightful.

- H-how? She asked starting to tremble again.

- It's ok, Mara said reassuring her. If you don't do it, you won't be punished. I just need to know how badly you want to get out of here… how strong you are. Are you strong Daria?

The child nodded her head. Mara signaled one of her henchmen to bring a blaster rifle. The girl took it, although it was bigger then her entire hand and approached Ragadat. He struggled desperately but an invisible force was holding him down, on his knees.

- Come on D-d-aria… he said releasing his pheromones. You don't want to do that… I always treated you n-n-nice.

What Ragadat didn't know is that the spray she inhaled rendered the child immune to his pheromones. Her mind was clear, and she remembered how her parents sold her, how she was beaten time and time again, how she starved, how she suffered. So when she heard the word "nice", her little finger pulled the rifle's trigger on reflex and she shot the faleen in the right arm. The overlord screamed in agony and fell to the floor. His attacker approached and shot more rounds. She started crying and yelling… she shot at the body till there was nothing left to shoot at. All the while Mara was watching, her green eyes sparkling with pride and something much more sinister. After she was finished Daria threw away the gun and ran at Mara, hugging her tightly.

- It's ok, Mara said picking her up and squeezing her light frame. You're such a good girl. Such a _good_ girl.

Luke watched the entire scene from a distance, feeling sick to his stomach. Darth Pyra had stolen the little girl's innocence, and pushed her into a life dedicated to the dark side. Daria had killed, and now was marked for life.

"So this is how the Sith operate. The true face of the Dark Side, perverting all that it touches" Luke thought and felt hatred and disgust build up inside him.

Since Darth Sidious death at the hands of Master Windu, no Jedi had encountered the Sith again. There were rumors and vague reports that Darth Tyrannus established a new Sith Academy, but nothing concrete was ever found. Dooku was already old by the time Sidious turned him, so it was thought he died since years passed and the Sith never made their presence truly known. Until now, when they seemed to be coming back with a vengeance. Luke needed to get away with this new information. He needed to warn the Council.

Mara comforted the girl a few more minutes and then released to what appeared to be her second in command, the twy'lek Darth Neron.

- Kill the rest of the slavers and the mercenaries. Grab the other children and load them on our destroyer. Set this piece of junk to self destruct and then head for home.

- What about the clients, he said pointing to the group of nobles that were still being held at gun point.

- Let them go, she answered after pondering a few seconds. Just make sure they know who they're working for now.

- Yes, master. He grabbed Daria's little hand but turned around. What about you? Aren't you coming?

- I got some unfinished business she said and stared at a certain droid locker. Don't worry about me Neron, she added turning back to look at her second in command. You just get the children to the academy. She leaned down and gently caressed the little iridonian's bare shoulder. Bye Daria, I'll see you soon.

Darth Pyra jumped off stage, as the cargo hold was being emptied of people, either clients that were leaving in a panic, or mercenaries being executed. She ran towards the droid locker and quickly opened it. It was empty. The ceiling now sported a round whole, it's edges still sizzling after being cut with a lightsaber. Darth Pyra sighed and quickly gave chase…


	5. Cold Hard Bitch

**Chapter 5 – Cold Hard Bitch**

_Gotta leave town,  
>Got another appointment,<br>Spent all my rent,  
>Girl you know I enjoyed it.<br>Gonna check her out,  
>She's my latest attraction,<br>Gonna hang around,  
>Wanna get a reaction.<em>

Jet_  
><em>

Luke made his way through the hallways to the computer room he had seen earlier. Ragadat himself may have been dead, but there was still the matter of clients he had serviced, slaves, planets, places, people, tons of information that could serve the republic. Not to mention, it could possibly contain information about Darth Pyra, or at least the false identity she used to get on Ragadat's cruiser. That could still be a valuable clue. He quickly downloaded all the information on a datapad… He tried to send out a subspace message but all communication systems were offline. Probably sabotaged by the Sith.

The room also served as a security room, showing live footage from all over the cruiser. He spotted Darth Pyra walking down a hall, with slow determined steps. It was the only hallway that connected the deck he was on with the hangar bay. Suddenly she looked straight into the camera, and smirked. She leaned against a wall and start whistling, casually, like she didn't have a worry in the world. She knew he had had to reach the hangar bay in order to grab one of the escape pods.

"So… she's waiting for me…"

Luke pondered his next course of action… He wasn't thrilled by the idea of facing a Sith warrior. He could've sneaked in the hangar bay through one of the air ducts, but that would take time he potentially didn't have. It wasn't wise to face a Sith warrior all alone, especially on board a ship that was going to explode any minute. It was stupid, reckless, idiotic… It was the last thing he should be doing.

And that's exactly why he was doing it.

Darth Pyra looked at the poor excuses for paintings hung on the walls. It was amazing what passed for art these days… The slave lord had insisted to decorate all of his ship with the most expensive trinkets, even simple hallways like the one she was in.

All of the sudden she felt a presence behind the door at the end of the hallway, opposite of the one she was standing against.

"He finally decided to show up… Took him long enough"

The doors remained closed, as she approached them. She knew he was behind them, and yet they did not open. She extended her senses and detected something else. Chemicals. Movement. Mechanics… danger.

There was a thermal detonator behind the doors!

She jumped back on her stomach and covered her head with her hands. The explosion blew the metal doors apart. Her ears started ringing and pieces of metal charged her skin, but she used the Force to deflect them. A heavy white smoke filled the room. Luke wanted to run through the hallway before it cleared, or at least that's what he planned. He found himself pushed backwards, and thrown with his back against a wall. Darth Pyra appeared out of the smoke and jumped over the rubble left behind where the doors were supposed to be. Luke felt something grip his neck strangling him. He launched his own attack. Pyra suddenly felt a vice-type grip all over her body, feeling like something was trying to literally crush every bone in her body. It wasn't Luke's intention to truly hurt her, but he did feel that if he didn't break her concentration soon, he might suffocate.

Darth Pyra let go of the grip. Luke took big gulps of air and released his own hold on her. The two warriors took a breather, and activated their lightsabers, preparing to duel. Pyra raised her hand and Luke's fake beard was stripped of his face… the move stung a bit, but it unnerved him more then anything else.

- Ha! the Sith yelped. I knew it! She inspected the fake lump of hair it around before throwing it away. Now… you can look pretty when I kill you.

- You find me pretty? Skywalker said holding his lightsaber up in a defensive stand.

- You'll make a pretty _corpse_, she said lunging forward.

Luke defended himself, raising his lighstaber over head, catching her blow. She pushed down with all her strength, and couldn't resist making some comments.

- Hgnn… You're pretty sneaky for a Jedi. Using that thermal detonator…

- The best defense, is a good offense, Luke said through greeted teeth and pushed forward, pushing the Sith off of him.

Darth Pyra quickly retaliated with a series of saber twirls, aimed for his head and torso, but Luke blocked every one , and tried to push her into a wall but she deflected his attack. The lightsabers twirled and the warriors continued their duel, slowly studying each other's moves. Everytime their sabers clashed, the silvery sparks that resulted lit their faces. Darth Pyra used short fast blows, while Luke was more keen to maneuvers that took longer to prepare but caused more damage. He was aware of the fact that he was quickly running out of time. She crouched down and tried to swipe his legs from under him, but he jumped in the air, landing behind her. She forced pushed him and he was thrown backward, in the direction of two doors that opened automatically when their sensors picked up his body's presence.

Darth Pyra entered the room… a storage facility for droid parts. It was full of shelves and containers. She walked down an isle, with shelves on either side. Her lightsaber's hum and the sound of her steps were the only sounds in the room.

- Come out, come out, wherever you are… she teased. Come on Jedi, an hour ago you could barely keep it in your pants. And I'm not talking about your lightsaber.

- That's before I know what you were, his voice was heard from up above.

- I'm not so bad once you get to know me, she said and jumped on top of one of the piles of crates. The storage room stretched out before her, and she could see over the tops of the shelves.

A tingle in the back of her head warned her of incoming danger.

She jumped up and twirled in the air, just as a blue lightsaber sliced the air where she was had been, and returned to Luke Skywalker's hand, standing on the opposite side of the room. The two jumped from shelf to shelf, until they landed on the same surface, and reinitiated their duel. After a flurry of moves, Pyra pushed the Jedi off but instead of falling to his death, he gently levitated down. She jumped on the floor, landing on her feet. She used the Force to nudge one of the huge shelves, causing it to fall on top of the Jedi. Luke guessed her intentions and jumped out of the way. The shelves began to fall like domino pieces, until the entire arrangement crumbled.

In this circumstance, the only direction to run was down, so the two lighstaber wielders cut hole in the floor. They landed in a kitchen, where the smell of food was still thick in the air. Luke landed on a table full of dishes; the porcelain discs fell to the floor breaking into pieces. As he was getting up, he saw a spoon heading straight for him. He used the Force to deflect it. He spotted Pyra in a corner, forks and knives floating around her. She smirked and launched her attack. He deflected most of the kitchen ware but a knife came in from behind, and sliced open his left foot. He fell down, grabbing his ankle that started to bleed. The Sith took advantage of the situation and attacked, swinging her weapon. Luke caught the blow, pushed back and then hit her in the face. Pyra stumbled back, dropped the lightsaber, and brought her hands to her face to cover her nose. She went into a corner and whimpered.

- How could you hit a woman? You monster… she said, on the verge of tears.

All of the sudden Luke felt bad and slowly got up to apologize. She had her back to him as he awkwardly got up, letting his guard down. Pyra swinged around and hit him with the back of her hand. Luke the wind knocked out of him. He dropped his saber and fell to the floor.

- Idiot, Darth Pyra said with a smirk and jabbed him in the stomach with her right foot, repeatedly. Luke spat out blood and reached for his lightsaber, but Pyra stepped on his hand, causing more pain. Stay down, she said menacingly. She flipped him over and straddled him. She pushed down on his wounded ankle, making him wince in pain. She grabbed his head and held it down, in the light, to get a better look at him.

- Well, I'll be… . If it isn't Luke Skywalker, prince of the galaxy. She put her lightsaber's blade of energy right under his chin, and with her left hand she held his head in place. Of all the slave ships in all the star systems you had to come aboard mine.

- Last time I checked it belonged to Ragadat.

- Last time_ I_ checked there wasn't enough Ragadat left to fill a tea cup. He's probably doing the two step in hell by now. And soon you'll be joining him. But first… Her left hand traveled downwards, over his chest and abdomen, and continued its exploration... Oooh… _big_ boy, she said smiling.

Her com linked activated, signaling an incoming call.

- Just when I was starting to have fun. What! She asked frustrated.

- Master! An alderaanian frigate just dropped out of hyperspace!

- Listen to me Neron. You will jump to hyperspace immediately and you will not let anyone follow you.

- But master… the self destruct. You only have a few minutes…

- Do what I say. Get out of here and let me worry about myself or I swear when I get back to the academy I'll slice off your tentacules and use them for toilet plungers. Now go! She turned off her com link and turn to look at Skywalker. Well, your highness. It seems we have to… Hgnnn!

Luke hit the Sith in the face with a bag of potatoes he had spotted earlier. The woman took the force in the face and got thrown aside. He quickly got up, knowing he doesn't have much time. He looked down at the uncouncious woman and muttered: "Bitch…" before he ran out of the room. He reached the hangar bay and jumped into one of the escape pods, just as explosions tore the ship apart. He strapped himself in and activated the propulsion system. The machine hummed to life and quickly darted out into space. Luke sighed with relief. He got out alive with all the data. He looked back at the Liberator, just as one final explosion in the fuel chamber caused the ship blow to pieces. The energy release propelled his ship forward and damaged his engines.

He sat patiently and waited to be picked up by the Alderaanian ship.

"Damn... I forgot my lightsaber up there" he thought to himself bitterly.

**AN** - I love action scenes. Don't you love action scenes? Let me know how Sith Mara is looking so far. I'm sure other people have come up with the idea before. I personally wanted her to be truly vicious but also fun. Not another version of Asajj Ventress for instance. Reviews would be much appreciated.


	6. Violence

Chapter 6 - Violence

_Can't count all the eyes that stare,  
>can't count all the things they see,<br>she kills with no life to spare,  
>just victims are left to bleed,<br>one drink and the pain goes down,  
>soft shadows lay by her feet,<br>lay soft as you slowly drown,  
>lay still as you fall asleep.<em>

Blink 182

Admiral Thrawn sighed heavily as he gazed at the wreckage left in space in the wake of the Liberator's distruction. He was standing in his admiral's chair on board of the Alderaanian frigate. The observation deck was smaller then that of other ships, but it had a familiar circular shape, with the commander's chair in the middle and all around it com-stations and work panels for different crew members. The silence of the scenery was interrupted by a familiar voice.

- I am a member of the royal house of Organna! You will unhand me now or I'll throw you into space!

- Lurien, the admiral breathed out as he swinged his chair around to look at the young man his troppers brought up to the deck. You need to calm down.

The 20 year old sire of Bail Organna looked a little shook up, but the skinny brat was still in one piece.

- Admiral Thrawn. Nice of you to drop by… I could've been killed back there! There were Sith everywhere!

- Lord Organa, please. Calm down.

- I could've died! Don't you understand! Why is my father paying you for protection, you incompetent fool!

Thrawn sighed once more, got up from his chair and then slapped the young prince across the face. Organa fell down and his face quickly turned a vicious red.

- How dare you? he asked, in shock looking up at the admilar.

- I dare because you deserve it, Thrawn said neutrally. That and a lot more. If you were my son, I would beat you within an inch of your life. You're nothing but a coward and a pervert Lurien. Your parents have told you numerous times not to deal with Ragadat, and today you finaly saw why.  
>- If I want twp bit sermons I will go to my mother, Lurien muttered while getting up. I think you broke my lip, he said touching a wound on his lower lip that was bleeding. He flinched when he felt the sting.<em><br>_- Accidents happen. Now… explain to me exactly what transpired.

- Yes, yes… First tell me. What is this I hear about survivors?

- Since we didn't know which escape pod you would be in, we picked up every one we found. Most of them indeed had members of royal families and other such figures, but we also have two unidentified individuals. They are isolated in the brig. We thought they might be part of Ragadat's entourage. Lieutenant, on screen please.

- Yes admiral, a female rodian replied and instead of the familiar pattern of stars and space, the observation screens now showed two holding cells.

- That's her! Lurien announced pointing to the cell on the right, which held captive a woman, that was staring in the camera. That's… Darth Pyra, I think is her name. She killed… helped kill Ragadat. She stole all the slaves. She's responsible for this. Kill her!

- All in due time. What about the other one?

- That's some alterian nobil. But he used to have a beard.

- Obviously a disguise. Lieutenant, zoom in on his face. Hmmm. Lurien, remind me to slap you again later.

- What! Why?

- _That_ is Luke Skywalker.

- Skywalker? As in the House of Skywalker?

- You know any other Skywalkers?

- Luke Skywalker was there to buy slaves? Lurien asked bewildered.

- I weep for the planet that shall inherit such a moronic monarch, Thrawn murmured for himself. He was obviously there working undercover. Jedi business no doubt.

- He must've seen me. He knows I was there. We have to kill him.

- Kill him? The son of Anakin Skywalker? Leader of the jedi order and the most powerful man in the universe? Tell me Lurien. You feel like starting a war? Because if you're not I suggest you keep quiet and let me deal with this. We must handle this with caution. Sergeant Teer.

- Yes admiral, a tall grey haired human male quickly step forward.

- Do the prisoners have any idea where they are?

- I don't think so sir. We were wearing mercenary disguises at all times, just like you instructed. They probably think this is another one of Ragadat's ships.

- Excellent.

- Admiral, the rodian lieutenant called, look.

The camera in Darth Pyra's cell went offline. The screen showed only static.

- Sergeant. Take a squad. See what happened. Use whatever force is necessary.

- Yes admiral.

Thrawn watched Luke Skywalker to make sure the Jedi wasn't going to act up also.

- You, he said looking in Lurien's direction, will go to your quarters and you are going to stay there until we reach Alderaan.

- You listen to me. My father may have appointed you my personal nanny but…

- If you don't shut up this second I will have someone gag you.

Lurien's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets but he stayed quiet. He left the observation deck in rage, and Thrawn sighed again, praying that soon enough he will have the credits necessary to quit this frustrating job.

He refocused his attention on the current situation.

- Don't we have other video feeds in that area?

- There is a protocol droid nearby, sir, the lieutenant replied.

- Good. See what you can do about accessing his visual sensors.

...

A squad of Alderaan's finest troops disguised as mercenaries entered the holding facility. They passed right by Luke's cell. He was crouched down, in a position fit for meditation. He saw the troops pass by. He knew the Sith was somewhere on the frigate with him, probably at the other end of the facility.

The squad stopped in front of the holding cell that was supposed to hold the Sith Darth Pyra. They saw it empty. Sergeant Oueer proceeded to enter the deactivation code for the force field in order to lower it and step inside to search the cell.

- What is he doing? Thrawn asked back on the observation deck. On the huge screen in front of him was the protocol droids visual feed, switched to the infrared spectrum. She's standing right there. Why is he deactivating the force field?

- I don't know sir. It must be a mind trick…

- Get him on the com link…

- I can't sir. Something's interfering with the communication.

- This is admiral Thrawn, the admiral said via a com link with the rest of the ship. All available security personnel head for the brig. NOW!

Oueer deactivated the force field and stepped inside the cell. The squad felt something rushed pass them but it was so fast, they couldn't even see it more then a blur. Suddenly, their blaster rifles flew out of their hands. They turned around and they saw a gorgeous woman holding her hands up. Their guns slowly turned around… and opened fire. The men died instantly.

One of them smashed against protocol droid that was standing in the corner, watching everything unfold.

- Where is she now, lieutenant?

- Something's wrong with the video feed. The Sith is disrupting it somehow.

- What about heat sensors?

- I have her… she's heading for the arms' locker.

- Probably figures that's where we put her lightsaber. Security personnel, the target is heading for the Armory. You are authorized to use lethal force. Stop her at all costs.

Over 20 armored men were waiting outside the armory for the intruder.

- Did you engage the target? Admiral Thrawn asked via com link.

- What do you mean? The chief of security asked. The target hasn't arrived.

- She's standing right next to you…

- Sir, we are alone… wait a second. The chief looked up and listened carefully. He heard a slight shuffle coming from above.

- She's in the air ducts, men! Fire!

20 blaster rifles cut through the above air duct like it was paper. The smell of ozone filled the air. A section of the air duct fell through the ceiling with a loud crash. A woman's body fell to the floor, sticking out of the debris. She wasn't moving or breathing, and she was covered in blood. The chief slowly nudged her head with his blaster rifle. Suddenly, her green eyes opened and sparkled. The neon lights all blew up, and the hallway was shrouded in darkness.

- Oh shit! Shoot her! Shoot her! Shoot her!

The chief gave the order and his men obeyed, shooting their weapons at the floor but by then the woman had already moved.

Without a visual on the situation, all that Thrawn could do was listen, hearing the twisted symphony of his dying men:

"Behind me… she's behind me… arghhh…."

" Trooper, she's right there. "

"What do you mean? I'm over he….arrhhh…"

"Nooo!"

"Stay focused men!"

"I can't see a fucking thing!"  
>"She's over there!"<p>

" My leg… aah, by the gods. My leg… aaahhh"

The screams continued, and Thrawn just listened patiently. The rest of the crew flinched and twitched, thanking whatever God they had that they weren't down there. The screams stopped.

- One woman, against 20 armed men… a technician whispered, not quite believing.

- They were only a diversion. Lieutenant, did you do what I asked.

- Yes sir. I sealed off that sector and I am now pumping tranquilizer gas through the damaged air duct. She should be feeling lightheaded by now. She has stopped moving. She must've passed out.

- Wait a couple of more minutes, and then send a security droid to pick her up. Throw her back into her escape pod.

- Sir?

- It seems to me we have a Jedi Knight and a Sith warrior that we need to dispose of quickly. We dump both of their escape pods on one of Besered's inhabitable moons and then we leave. With any luck they will kill each other and nobody needs to know we were ever here.

- Understood sir. But what if one of them _does_ survive, and gets rescued.

- I would assume that Fate simply wants Lurien Organa to be properly fucked. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. You have your orders lieutenant.

With that Admiral Thrawn retreated to the sanctity of his office.

**AN:** Aaaah, Thrawn. I love Thrawn. :) Over the course of the fic I'm going to try to integrate more characters from the Star Wars universes. This however was my least favourite chapter. Thrawn's reasoning in this is flawed. We'll just dump em and let em kill each other. A control freak like Thrawn would never do that. Buuut... I'd like to think that without an Empire and an Emperor to encourage his development, Thrawn is not quite as genius as the original Timothy Zahn version, but he's still pretty smart.


	7. Welcome to the Jungle

**Chapter 7 – Welcome to the jungle**

_Welcome to the jungle __  
><em>_It gets worse here everyday __  
><em>_Ya learn ta live like an animal __  
><em>_In the jungle where we play __  
><em>_If you got a hunger for what you see __  
><em>_You'll take it eventually __  
><em>_You can have anything you want __  
><em>_But you better not take it from me_  
>Guns N Roses<p>

A loud shrill awoke Luke from his sleep… he opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. He was inside the escape pod, but what was even more surprising was the scenery outside. His pod was somewhere in the middle of a strange forest, maybe even a jungle. The sunlight creeped through the branches and the sky itself was a light green.

He opened the hatch and exited the small craft. The lush vegetation came in all shades of green, ocre and maroon. Some very exotic looking very colorful flowers completed the tableau, while strange shrieks and shrills filled made up the soundtrack for the strange environment the jedi found himself in. He heard something rustle behind him and he quickly turned. A few bushes trembled, but other then that he didn't see anything. The jungle was obviously full of creatures and his descent probably attracted their attention.

" How did I get here?" He asked himself.

The trees were moderately tall, but very twisted and twirled, making them easy to claim. He quickly climbed the tallest one to get a better view of the area. From the position of the sun he deducted it was mid noon. There appeared to be some hills in the distance, but other then that just trees and vegetation as far as the eyes can see. He did spot a radio beacon a couple of kilometers east of his position, and he figured that was the best destination. By the looks of the giant red star that shone on green sky, he concluded he must be on one of the gas giants' moons. He knew that some of them were inhabitable. He gathered what he could from the escape pod, only there wasn't much in the way of survival gear in there. Escape pods were designed for rapid deployment, followed by an even more rapid pick-up.

"Speaking of pick-up, he thought as he made his way through the foliage, I wondered why the Alderaan officials would dump me here. They were disguised as mercenaries but I recognized them anyway, the way they moved, the way they reacted to my being a jedi when they brought me to my cell. I know Lurien Organa was there at Ragadat's party… It must've been Thrawn. Nobody else would dare mess with the House of Skywalker except for him. But why dump me here if he wanted to protect Lurien? He could've either killed me or simply let me go. This doesn't make any sense."

He quickly found a trail of sorts that went in the direction of the radio beacon. He soon reached a clearing where he found curious construction. It looked like a deserted scientific complex. Maybe the moon was the home of a research center once upon a time. The buildings were made of Corellian Stone. Strong and durable, but not very aesthetic. The windows were all broken or missing altogether. Vegetation invaded the buildings' façade, and even the interiors. He went inside and made an inventory of whatever he found. The main bulding had only two floors and over a douzen laboratories. The scientists here interested in biology and had stored numerous plants and life forms in the Skywalker however was looking for the com-center, and more specifically, a radio station. He found it in an office on the top floor, but the transistors were completely burned out. The generators that powered the complex were depleted.

There was a another smaller construction that served as a living area. He figured he might find some supplies, so Skywalker ransacked the crew quarters and the kitchen, but the food was long gone. He did find some basic medical supplies and a couple of first aid kits.

But what he found in the basement of the mainbuilding is what got him really excited. A small one-man craft. The design looked calamarian, but he couldn't be sure. The material decay and structural damage made it very hard for him to place it. It was a simple arrowhead shape, with the hyperdrive in the back. The good news was the hyperdrive engines and computer systems were still intact. The bad news was the fuel lines were missing.

"If I can find an alternate energy source, maybe I can make this baby fly. I'm also going to need some power converters…"

He remembered that escape pods were powered by energy cells, and he figured that was his best shot for some flying power. It was already starting to get dark so he figured he should head back to his escape pod and bring back the power cell. He exited the building, and that's when he first felt her. She jumped off the roof, flipped in the air, and landed right in front of him. Luke had enough time to raise his hands in self defense but she jabbed him straight in the chest. The force of the blow propelled him backwards and into a wall. The side of the building shook from the impact and a few pebbles broke off, falling around Skywalker's body. He spit out blood and waited for his eye sight to focus. Darth Pyra was beside him in a nano second and activated her lightsaber, holding it's tip aimed at his head.

Luke's hand went to his belt but the lighstaber wasn't there…  
>- Looking for something? The woman purred.<p>

The Jedi frowned as he remembered he left his lighstaber in the Liberator's kitchen. He used the Force to push her and Mara stumbled back. Luke quickly got up to run but a wall of fire erupted in front of him. He stopped to fast, lost his balance and fell down. He covered his face with his hands, feeling the heat on his face. The flames were so close they singed the blondish hair on his arm. Darth Pyra again pointed the tip of her lighstaber at his face, and he was trapped. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come…

Instead the flames disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

- What the hell are you doing? Pyra snapped.

Skywalker looked up confused.  
>- That's it? The woman asked. No force tricks, no mindfucks, no nothing... You're just gonna give up? The great sire of Anakin Skywalker defeated by a girl on a backwater shithole of a planet… Could you be more pathetic?<br>- It's a small moon, Skywalker said menacingly, through greeted teeth.  
>-Oh… <em>she<em> speaks. Get up.

Luke carefully got up, maintaining eye contact. The Sith looked him up and down and then finally spoke.  
>- This is how I see it. I only got about 2, maybe 3 days until they send a search party for you. There's nothing I'd love more then to peal your skin off your bones… unfortunately I'm not stupid enough to believe I can handle a whole squad of Jedi by myself. Not to mention your daddy. So… you're gonna stick to what was undoubtedly your plan. You're gonna fix up that piece of junk down there. You behave nicely… and I might let you live, minus a few limbs of course.<p>

- I'm rather partial to my limbs so... no. No deal. Why would _I_ help you?  
>Pyra approached him. She had a talent of getting into his personal space, like she belonged there for some reason. She stared into his eyes and for a second her own eyes, glinted like two emeralds in the sun light.<br>- Because you're curious… she whispered.  
>- Yes I am… he said unimpressed. Curious why you couldn't just fix it yourself. Don't they teach you mechanics at that Sith academy?<p>

- I'm the finest piece of ass in this galaxy. They don't _have_ to teach me mechanics. Besides, you have nothing to lose. You might catch me off guard, kill me and get it over with. Of course that will never happen, but to somebody as deluded as a Jedi it might seem a valid possibility.  
>"More like a certainty" Luke thought. If he couldn't eliminate her on the surface, he could always rig the ship to explode once it left the atmosphere, so no matter what happened to him, she wouldn't escape.<p>

- So what's it going to be, she asked raising her saber.  
>- How did you do that? Make that fire appear out of nowhere...<br>- Pyrokinetics are a specialty of mine. Anything else?  
>- Yes… what are <em>you<em> curious about?  
>That glint appeared again as she smirked.<br>- How far I can push you before you crack.  
>- You mean before I turn to the dark side?<br>- Oh honey, she said turning off her lightsaber and patting him on the chest, I'm afraid you lack the complexity to turn to the dark side.

Luke simply raised an eyebrow.  
>- It's a lot easier to give in to the power, then to use it wisely every second, of every hour of every day.<br>- By the gods, that is so… so… boring. Not to mention hilarious. You confuse wisdom, with cowardice.  
>- And you confuse power with agreeable circumstan… ungh.<br>Mara hit him over the face with a rock she picked off the ground. Luke felt like his jaw was going to break into a million pieces.  
>- Let me break this down for you, she said pining him to the ground. I'm in control. You misbehave, I cut off a finger. You talk back, I cut off an ear. You do anything, you even think of… retaliating in any way, I will cut out your heart and bring it to my master to serve it with a nice glass of bakuran wine. You got all that?<p>

Luke mumbled something.  
>- What was that?<br>He mumbled again holding his hands over his face.  
>- Oh, I dislocated your jaw. Hold it.<br>She straddled him and tried to pry his hands from his face, but he was fidgeting.  
>- Let me look, you pussy! Hmm… This may hurt… at least I hope it does. She felt around under his cheeks, looking for the right spot. When she felt the depression that shouldn't be there, she pushed back his jaw.<p>

- How long is it going to take you? The repairs.  
>- I don't know, he answered caressing his left cheek. I need the power cells from the escape pods and that should take me about two days to…<br>- Two days! I knew Jedi are slow but this is ridiculous.  
>- If I had a droid with me.<br>- I don't want lame excuses, I want fast results, otherwise I might get cranky and… well let's just say that wouldn't bode well for you, she snarled caressing her lightsaber.  
>- We better get started then.<br>- My escape pod is just beyond the edge of the jungle in that direction, she said pointing south. Fetch.  
>- Aren't you at least going to get it for me?<br>- I got more important stuff to do, she said heading into the dark jungle.  
>- Like what?<br>- Like _hunting_… she said with a ferocious smile.  
>- Aren't you afraid I'll escape? He shouted behind her, after she disappeared into the core of the jungle.<br>- Escape to where? A voice was heard penetrating the darkness.  
>Yeah, the Jedi said looking around, escape to <em>where<em>?


	8. Sleep

**Chapter 8 - Sleep**

_Afraid of the dark that surrounds me,  
>Hide in the dirt of the ground,<br>Free in the wind that surrounds me.  
>I'm not afraid to sleep in the night,<br>Not afraid  
>To sleep in the night.<em>

Mazzy Star

It took Skywalker a couple of hours to safely remove the power cells and bring them back to the shuttle. It was a lot harder to navigate through the jungle in the dark, but he amplified his other senses through the Force. Darth Pyra's pod was in far worse condition than his. It had crashed into a rocky formation in the middle of a clearing and there was debris everywhere.

"She had a rough landing, which gives me an odd sense of comfort" he thought. Despite the tattered look of her vessel, Darth Pyra herself had looked alright, a few scrapes but nothing serious. "Maybe she has some sort of internal hemorrhage or something like that", he thought hopefully. He carefully removed the power cell and brought it back to the complex.

He then searched for the tools he needed around the basement, but he still came up short. He had to improvise and sometimes use the force to get the fine tuning done. Also, he had to work by the light of the fire, which wasn't the most appropriate for what was essentially delicate work. He was determined to last through the night, but exhaustion soon took over. His eyelids were getting heavy and it was harder and harder to focus. For some reason, he feared going to sleep. What if Darth Pyra or Mara or whatever her name was came back and decided she didn't need a jedi running around and would take advantage of his vulnerable state (namely sleeping) to finish him off.

"Of course, she could've killed me earlier, he mused, but didn't. Maybe she's being honest. Oh, wake up already Skywalker, he snapped at himself. She's a sith. Trusting her would be suicide. The only reason she let you live is because she thinks that other people know where you are, a fact which you made sure is completely untrue. Even so, I doubt she's going to kill me in my sleep, since she needs me."

He went up to one of the living areas and collapsed near a corner. There were no bed pellets or mattresses in the room, but the good news was that it was a warm night. He wondered in passing if Darth Pyra might've been killed by some creature of the night but then laughed at his own naiveté. 20 of Alderann's best and brightest couldn't kill her…

"Still, he thought. A man can hope."

He started a fire, to have some light. He watched the flames dance and observed that even alone, there was still something to remind him of his strange companion.

"Sith… everything that I hate, he mused. Everything that I've tried to fight since I was old enough to hold a lightsaber."

He fell asleep with that thought …


	9. Bake my biscuit

**Chapter 9 – Bake my biscuit**

_I ain't got no flour, I ain't got no meal ,  
>If you got no man, you've got to rob and steal.<br>I'm might tell you somethin', don't know if I'm right,  
>But if you want my bread, you got to stay all night.<br>Come here, come here, won't you come here now,  
>Boy, I ain't got time cause my bread ain't brown.<em>

Mazzy Star

A loud rumpling noise woke Luke from his slumber the next morning. Right in front of him was a bloody severed animal cranium. He jerked back on instinct and retreated till his back was against the wall. Darth Pyra erupted in laughter and signaled her presence in the room.

- This is your idea of a stupid joke? The Jedi snapped getting up and dusting himself off. He stared outside and saw that it was morning.

- No… this is my idea of a _good_ joke, she elaborated and continued giggling.

She left the room and entered the kitchen, dropping the carcass on a metal table. Luke rubbed the sleep from his eyes and followed her. He had a head ache and his stomach growled. He was feeling almost as bad as Darth Pyra looked. She had scrapes and bruises all over her body, including a scratch over her left eyebrow that was still bleeding. The animal she had killed however looked much worse. Being decapitated and all. It was some kind of furry bipedal herbivore, but he didn't recognize the species. It was about the size of a tauntaun only it had brown fur instead of gray. Its limbs were twisted and his body full of wounds covered in dry blood. A lightsaber didn't cause wounds like that…

- What did you to it? Luke asked crouching down to inspect the creature.

- Her… She put up quite a fight, Darth Pyra answered opening cabinets.

- I see that, he said running his hands over the animal's fur. Did you have to torture it like this? Couldn't you just use your lightsaber? It would've been less messy at least.

- I happen to like messy, Pyra stated. This is what I hate about you jedi, she said continuing her search.

- Among other things I suppose.

- Among _a lot_ of other things. I hate your so-called "humanity". _You_ think it's more humane to kill with a lightsaber. To make it quick and clean, like life is just a mechanism that you can simply shut off, without any feeling whatsoever. I admit, I fought this creature with my bare hands, for more then an hour. And during that time it did everything it could to stay alive. It scratched and bit and yelled and bled, before I finally got the upper hand and snapped its neck. What do you call that?

- Brutality.

- Well I call it respect. Because first of all I gave it a chance to fight back. If it can kill me, it deserves to live. And second, at least before it died it felt _alive_. But you wouldn't know anything about that…

She turned around and continued to ransack the storage containers. For a bunch of scientists, the utensils in the kitchen were primitive, right down to the old fashioned stove and oven.

- What are you looking for? Luke asked frustrated.

- We're in a kitchen… What do you think I'm looking for?

- I already searched the place yesterday for food…

- I have food, she said gesturing to the dead animal. Now I have to prepare it. And for that I need some basic utensils, she said hidden away in a pantry. She came out with a huge round pot that she placed on a table.

- Don't tell me _you_ can cook, Luke asked raising an eyebrow and coming up behind her.

- I'm just like that…

- Domestic?

- Full of surprises, she said with a smirk turning around with a hatchet in her hand.

The carcass suddenly started hovering above the floor and twirling around slowly. Mara flicked her wrist and the animal's skin was stripped from its body with a loud wet sound. Luke was splashed over the face with blood. He wiped it off disgusted. The pile of meat came to rest on a table. Darth Pyra picked up the skin and turned it over a couple of times.

"Mama's getting a new fur coat" she thought happily. She noticed Skywalker's disgusted look.

- Don't get queasy on me now, she said sharpening her hatchet with a pile.

- I don't see the purpose of this display. There's plenty of fruit outside. You really love meat so much?

- Well, I for one wouldn't recommend the salad in this place, she casually said as she started working on slicing the meat. Haven't you noticed something Skywalker?

Luke searched through his memories but didn't come up with anything. Even when he fell asleep last night it had been quiet. _Too quiet…_

- We're supposed to be in a jungle, she continued. Where is all the noise? Have you seen any animals because I haven't. No rodents, no predators, no birds. I haven't even seen a single bug. Why do you think that is?

- There must be something wrong with the vegetation, Luke answered after a while.

- Riiight. Give the boy a prize.

- But if that's true then where did you find…

- You know how far I had to walk to find this baby? All the way to the beach. The seashore is the only place I've even seen any wildlife.

- It must have something to do strictly with the chemical composition of the plants.

- Right, enough of the biology lessons. How are the repairs going?

- I brought the power cells here but it's going to take time to line them up properly and connect them to the hyperdrive, especially since I don't have the proper tools.

- You're the jedi. Be creative.

Luke got back to the basement. He decided it would be better to move the ship outside and take advantage of the daylight, instead of always having to work by the light of the fire. Luckily, there were two metal doors right above it that led outside. Using the force he opened them and then made the ship levitate. He set her down on a launching pad behind the complex, and continued his work, although his mind was on anything except installing the connectors between the two power cells.

"This is just one of those days… he thought. Started bad, looks like it's going to stay that way. And something tells me tomorrow won't be any different, or the day after tomorrow. Or any day I spend in the company of that… that she-demon." and he continued to insert some very nasty insults, whatever his food deprived mind could put together.

And speaking of food deprivation…

...

Luke opened his eyes and found himself in the living area, in front of a cozy fire. He sat up straight and tried to piece together what happened. Last thing he remembered he was working on the shuttle… and then everything faded to black. It was already evening he dtermined, after looking outside the window.

- You fainted, he heard Darth Pyra say. She stood in a corner, shrouded in shadows. Her green eyes sparkled by the light of the fire. Not eating will do that to you, she concluded and hit something with her foot. A plate with a slice of roasted meat slided on the floor next to where he was sitting. He looked at it for a while and then replied:

- I'm not playing your mind games, he said preparing to kick the plate away.

He stood to get up but the woman moved faster then he'd seen anyone move in his life, and she was beside him holding his neck down with her foot.

- You can either eat yourself or I'm pushing it down your neck, but you're not leaving this room with an empty stomach. Understood?

He nodded and she let him go… At first he ate with one eye on the woman, thinking this was another one of her tricks, but the meal tasted surprisingly good, and soon enough that was the only focus of his attention. Meanwhile Pyra tended to the fire and watched it burn to its own natural rhythm. After Skywalker finished his dinner, she noticed he was fidgeting.

- What is it?

- That was… surprisingly good, he answered honestly.

- Are you, gasp, making me a compliment?

- Yes, Mara. Try not to faint.

Her expression suddenly turned serious at the sound of her name. It was his turn to ask:

- What?

- How do you know my real name?

- You introduced yourself to that girl, back on the Liberator. Daria.

- Oh… you saw that? she asked looking back into the fire.

- Yes.

- I suppose you're just waiting to comment on it.

- Actually I'd rather avoid the subject altogether.

- Oh... why?

- Because rather then dwelling on how I got here I prefer to focus on how I shall leave, he answered and got up.

- Where are you going?

- Weren't you paying attention? I just told you…

- It's so nice and warm here, She interrupted him.

- Ok… I don't know what your angle is but you better stop it.

- Excuse me?

- Stop being so civil. You're scaring me.

- Maybe I don't have any angle, she said looking up at him from her seated position on the floor. Maybe I never had to apologize before now and I'm not very good at it...

- Apologize? He asked raising an eyebrow.

- Yes. I'm … would you mind sitting down! My neck is starting to hurt.

Luke waited a few seconds, undecided… and then sat down beside her. He leaned on his left hand, which was at a very close distance to her hip. Her lightsaber dangled on her belt on her other side.

- You were saying? He asked casually.

- You don't trust me do you?

He snorted and burst into laughter.

- I'm sorry… is that a rhetorical question?

Mara rolled her eyes at the statement and tended to the fire with a metal rod, rolling the logs around.

- Never mind, she quickly added.

- So far you've done nothing but either abuse me, ridicule me or torture me. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence…

- I'm just playing by the rules we're both supposed to follow. If it would've been the other way around…

- …and not to mention that everything about you is an act.

- Not everything, she stated looking him straight in the eyes. That moment we shared when we first met… that was [i]real[/i].

Light blue met emerald green, as the two looked on each other. They both realized how close they were actually standing to each other. A scarcely clad jedi and a half naked sith, making idle conversation near the burning fire.

- I mean, Mara continued leaning in, you wanted me, I wanted you, before everything got so complicated…

Her head came to rest on his shoulder and she let out a dreamy sigh.

- I didn't know who you were, Luke whispered.

- I guess it's true what they say… She held up her head and Luke could feel her breath on his cheek. His right arm went around her waist, circling her body. Ignorance is bliss, she concluded, turning his face around and leaning in for a kiss.

She only got to brush her lips on his, because Luke grabbed her lightsaber and yanked it off her belt. He took a flip back and hit her in the face with both his feet. Her head swung back from the blow. Luke activated the red lightsaber and took an attack stance. Mara glared at him from the floor, wiping blood off her chin.

- You sneaky little bastard… taking advantage of a girl like that.

- I don't see any girls around here, he said holding the red blade of energy right beside her neck, but I do see some sith trash. Don't move, don't blink, don't even breathe loud, unless you want to find yourself missing a head.

- Well junior, she said leaning on her hands, making herself comfortable, it seems you finally have the upper hand. What was it that gave me away?

Luke slowly kneeled down, but kept the lightsaber close to her neck.

- The entire idea of you seducing me is laughable.

- Like my daddy used to say before I killed him: never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.

- Now I'm going to ask you some questions, and I better like the answers…

**AN:** I think this would be a good time to mention that reviews are like crack to me.


	10. All the best Jedi have Daddy Issues

**Chapter 10 – All the best Jedi have daddy issues**

_They painted up your secrets,  
>And the lies they told to you,<br>And the least they ever gave you,  
>Was the most you ever knew,<em>

_And you know I see right through you  
>'cause the world gets in your way.<br>What's the point in all this screaming?  
>You're not listening anyway.<em>

Goo Goo Dolls

The saber's hilt was peculiar, but comfortable. It was designed for a woman, and thus was slightly longer and thinner, with an almost organic look.

- Let's start with something simple… your full name.

- Mara Jade to my friends, Darth Pyra to my enemies. Feel free to forget about that first name.

- You're a sith…

- Very perceptive.

- Where is your academy?

- What academy?

- The Sith Academy the Jedi Council has been trying for years to uncover…

- Oh… _that_ academy. No idea. You know, this would go a lot easier if you mixed it up with a little spontaneous violence.

- You're disgusting.

- Thanks, I like you too.

- Then oblige me with some answers. Where. Is. Your. Academy?

- Oh. Did you just use your Anakin Skywalker Voice? Scary… You do a really neat impersonation of your dad. Of course, it's the closest thing to actually being like him.

- Shut up, Luke said menacingly, bringing the blade closer to her neck.

- Am I touching a nerve? Poor little Skywalker… the prince of the galaxy, with the whole world at his feet, and he couldn't care less because his daddy or Obi-Wan didn't hug him when he was growing up.

- You don't know what you're talking about, he warned her.

- You're not exactly difficult to read… You're messed up Skywalker, and sad thing is, you know it. Somewhere deep inside you know you turned out wrong. You tried so hard to be the son your father wanted you to be that you forgot about the [i]man[/i] you were supposed to be. You know what I'm talking about? A man? Somebody who actually cares about what he's fighting for. Somebody who isn't just going through the motions hoping his father will someday notice.

- You're the last person I'd come to for life lessons! He shouted, his voice shaking with rage. You put a gun in a little girl's hand and told her to shoot. You destroyed her life and you didn't even care.

- Destroyed? If anything I helped her create a new life for herself.

- But it's still a life in chains. Maybe they're not chains you can see or touch or feel. But they're still there.

- Oh, grow up Skywalker. Those kids had suffered since the day they were born. Most of them had parents that sold them. You think you could've helped them with a pat on the back and some cheesy comments about how "the Force works in mysterious ways"? That they would've grown up happy and well adjusted in your perfect Jedi organized society? Life doesn't work like that. The world hurts you, you hurt it back. Those kids who were beaten, raped and molested… they would grow up to be criminals, rapists and molesters.

- Some of them… maybe…

- No, not _some_ of them. _Most_ of them. At least we'll give them a purpose, a focus for their rage, a way to deal with what happened to them and a way to turn it into a source of strength. We're giving them the opportunity to take destiny into their own hands. You think because you have a few issues you know what pain is? You have _no_ idea... How could you, growing up in your ivory tower? Your father never you sold in order to get credits for spice, and you never sat up wondering why he picked you and not one of your three brothers, and you never had to feel your own flesh burning because you had to be branded and your master was too cheap to buy a laser, you've never felt that the whole universe conspires to make your life as _miserable_ and as _painful_ as possible so don't you tell me what those kids will be doing in their future because _you_ have no _fucking_ clue!

- So is that it? You're just a victim of circumstances?

- I didn't say that. Maybe I just understand human nature better… Or maybe I'm just rambling to distract your attention, she added.

The lightsaber hilt heated up rapidly, to the brink of burning his flesh. Luke screamed in pain and released it on reflex. The hilt fell on the ground and then it flew in Mara's right hand. She held it up with confidence. It was her turn to look down on the jedi, but instead of lashing out like he expected, she deactivated the lightsaber and strapped it back on her belt. Luke's hands were covered in blisters, as a result of being burned.

- You should get to sleep, she said and turned to leave. There's some bacta ointment in the first aid kit. Rub that on your hands. You should be fine by tomorrow morning.

Luke was confused and wondered why she was acting so eerily civil. Before leaving the room she turned around.

- Don't think I'll forget about this. You won't know when, where or how, but there _will_ be consequences.

She walked out, not looking back, and Luke collapsed on the floor, unsure what to do or think.

**AN:** Now I think we're getting to the nitty-gritty of it. The next couple of chapters are going to focus on Leia Skywalker. Yes, she's in this too! So if you're only interested in a Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker story, I suggest you skip the next chapters. But I'd rather you didn't, because I'm actually kind of proud of the way I wrote the Leia / Han interactions. Yup, he's in this too. And Chewie, and the droids and even Lando. :)


	11. Speed

**Chapter 11 – Speed **

_Running from the nightmare  
>In the middle of the road,<br>Hell's no place for sleeping  
>In a world beyond control.<br>Caught in the headlights,  
>Coming after you,<br>When I woke up this morning  
>I had to do what I had to do.<em>

Billy Idol

- Chewie! Get off the craper and strap in one of the turrets! We got a nasty Jedi problem.

There were only a few things the galaxy that could truly scare Han Solo, and most of them were of the female variety. Jedi were that one exception. He knew it was dangerous to fly through their territory while making a shipment for Jabba, but the pay was too good to pass on the offer. The Millenium Falcon could've used some new Ion flux stablizers. Right now however, the job seemed less and less lucrative. A trio of Jedi starfighters and a star cruiser were hot on his trail, after appearing out of virtually nowhere while making his way to Tatooine. Almost as if they were expecting him.

His co-pilot Chewbacca, also his life-long fuzzy friend, took his place in the touret and roared continuously through the intercom.

- No, I don't know how they picked us up! Han answered frustrated, trying to keep ahead of his pursuers.

Being detected by Jedi was always a risk in his line of business, but this time he had been extra-careful. The job was a simple transport, from point A to point B. Point A being Tatooine Shadaa and point B being Nar Shadaa. He was contracted by Jabba the Hutt and the job was extremely well paid. The only condition was to not open the 3 containers he had to deliver. Han could keep his curiosity in check for the right price. And 100 000 credits just happened to be the right price.

- Come on Chewie, activate the canons. We gotta get rid of these do-gooders.

The Falcon sped up, flying right pass a spatial-buoy, making it spin around a few times. Three Jedi-starfighters engaged in the chase, determined not to lose their pray.

- Leia, he's trying to get away, one of the Jedi said transmitted through the radio to their leader.

- Trying is the operative word, Liam, the female replied with confidence.

Her small ship replicated every single move of the Falcon's, while at the same time gaining speed and closing the distance behind them. It was a lot smaller and thefore more maneuverable. Han was using all of his tricks, including straight out zig-zag flying, hoping to gain some momentum, making it easy to avoid the laser rounds the wookie was firing at her. Han Solo headed for a small asteroid field, and took a nose dive right as an asteroid was approaching from the front.

- Leia, watchout for the asteroid! Liam shouted over the radio.

- What asteroid? Leia asked dismissively, focusing on the Falcon's trail. Oh, _that _asteroid, she remarked when the cargobot disappeared and was replaced by the image of a huge, asymmetrical piece of rock.

She jerked her joystick forward and then felt all the blood rush to her head as the ship flew out of the way, flying straight down.

Although the move saved her life, she still bumped the rear end of her ship on the asteroid. She looked back at her little R2 unit, hoping he was ok.

- R2D2! Did you bump your head?

The small droid whistled and shook his dome shaped head from side to side. He then let out a beeping noise, that sounded like a sigh of relief.

- Good! See what you can do about the rear section.

She then turned her attention to the corellian cargobot. Feelings of frustration found their way inside her usual meditative state, but she pushed them aside. As she followed the villain, she set her mind at ease and used the Force to anticipate the pilot's moves. She was disturbed by another radio message.

- Leia! Don't let the speed get to your head. You're not alone on this chase, Jempa warned her.

- Right … Approach from the sides. We're going to flank him.

- Understood.

The 3 Jedi acted like a team and soon had the Falcon surrounded. Han felt like a caged animal.

- It's no use Chewie, these guys mean business. We got to jump into hyperspace.

Chewie nodded his head, in understanding and prepared the ship for the jump to hyperspace.

Seconds later he growled something that expressed both fear and frustration.

- What do you mean the hyper-engines don't work! This is no time to kid around!

The wookie puffed loudly, protesting to the idea that he would joke at a time like this.

- Great, Han said veering the Falcon to the left, ungh. Stuck in chase without hyperdrive engines. You know what this means, don't you?

Chewbacca nodded his head in agreement, and let out a worried moan.

- I know! I know, but we got no choice. Han let out another sigh and then gave the order. Dump the cargo Chewie.

His co-pilot activated the switch that opened the flaps and released the cargoholds. When Han veered to the left again, 3 giant containers spilled out of the ship and tumbled into space.

- By the Force! Liam exclaimed. He's dumping the containers!

- I can't believe this, Leia said with horror as she saw the containers spew out in space, ready to get hit by asteroids. Liam, Jempa! Clear the way for the containers and then send the Vindecator to come pick them up. I'll go get our delivery man…

The two pilots made sure no asteroids were around to hit the containers. Leia went right after the Millenium Falcon. She aimed for the back thrusters, letting the Force guide her aim. When she fired her missile, the Falcon took a direct his and spun around a few times as an after effect, making Han Solo nauseous.

- Whoa! Chewie… ! Left sub-light engine is offline… Compensating!

The Falcon shook again, signaling another hit.

Damnit! There goes the other one… Fucking Jedi.

Han hated a lot of things about Jedi, but their ability to hit the right spot at the right time while in the middle of a space battle was no doubt what irritated him the most. There was a certain art to getting a target lock and knowing exactly where to fire your canons. It took years of experience and hundreds of hours of flying all the myriad of spaceships the galaxy had to offer, from the tiniest escape pod to the most colossal battleship cruiser. And how did the Jedi do it? The Force just told them where to shoot. They were dirty, stinky, no good cheaters. On a whole other scale than Han Solo and his sabaac buddies.

Chewbacca snorted and broke the corellian out of reverie.

- Yeah, didn't think so. Not worth dying for… Han turned on the radio to all frequencies. This is Han Solo, captain of the Millenium Falcon. We surrender.

"Sure you do" Leia thought to herself, as the data her scanners picked up showed the obvious. He was powering down, awaiting to be picked up. R2D2 assumed he can deactivate the weapons systems and proceeded to do just that, but Leia stopped him:

- No, R2D2. Keep the canons looked on target.

- What do you mean he has a target lock? Han Solo asked when his co-pilot delivered the news. Uhm, unidentified Jedi knight… in case you haven't heard the first time. We are surrendering, you know? We give up. Take us to your leader. If I had one handy, I'd wave a white flag.

Leia listened to the ramblings, all the while thinking how much better the galaxy would be without scum like this. She kept her finger on the trigger button, and contemplated pushing it.

- WHAT THE BLAZES ARE YOU DOING! A male voice screamed through the radio. We surrender! SURRENDER!

Without realizing it, Leia had fired a salva right over the Falcon's haul. She only singed the antennae.

- Han Solo, stand by for cruiser pick-up, she heard someone say through the radio. Leia, what was that about? Liam asked her.

- I just wanted to scare him a little, she said, trying to sound calm.

- I think you succeeded. Do you mind deactivating your weapon systems now?

- I was in the middle of doing that, when you interrupted me. Meet you back on the cruiser. Skywalker out.

She abruptly turned off the radio and signaled R2D2 to turn the ship around.

...

The Millenium Falcon was resting in the Vindecator's hangar bay, right next to the 3 containers that had been rescued from space. Han Solo and Chewbacca were coming down the ramp with their hands held high, proving that they weren't a threat. The giant hall was full of technicians and droids, but Han's welcoming party was a group of three Jedi and a squadron of Republican troopers.

- Now boys, Han Solo began, why don't you show me to the brig? Throw away the key and I'll see you back on Coruscant. What's on the menu, by the way?

Han stared at the three Jedi, wondering which one was the pilot that took him down. He figured it was the middle aged brown haired, brown eyed male. The alien had giant, callous hands, not the hands of a pilot at all. And the female… Han chuckled at the thought that a female could outfly him. Although she did look familiar, not to mention hot. "What a waste" he thought looking her up and down.

Almost noticing the thought, Leia approached Han and force pushed him down on his knees. Chewbacca roared in protest, but the Republican troopers hurried to his side, restraining him.

- Before you get to enjoy your last meal… why don't you tell us who hired you.

- Wait a second, Han said squinting his eyes and remembering why the girl looked familiar. Leia Skywalker? Chewie, we hit the big leagues now, if Anakin Skywalker is sending his brats after us.

Leia gritted her teeth and delighted in the fantasy of smacking the smuggler's smirk right off his face.

- All I can tell you about my employer is this, Han began. He didn't pay me nearly enough.

- It would be in your best interest to cooperate, Liam calmly said.

- How exactly is it in my best interest to squeal and get killed?

Leia activated her lightsaber and placed it right under his neck… Chewbacca roared, but he was held tightly by the troopers.

- What you think I'm going to do with you? She whispered menacingly.

- Jedi don't kill, he scoffed dismissively.

- In your case, I think I'll make an exception.

- I'm no worse then the other couple of million smugglers in this galaxy.

- Smugglers are a necessary evil… but slave traders. They deserve all that they get.

Han changed his expression from amusement to anger.

- I am not a slave trader, he said slowly.

- Really?

Leia moved aside and Han could see a couple of droids trying to cut open the containers, cutting through the superstrong durasteel. When the Container's hatch was cut open, Han could see something moving inside.

- Oh no…

There were people inside the container. Naked and trembling they came out in the light, covering their eyes. Individuals of all kinds of species and ages. Some of them were bleeding The containers were filled with hibernation pods, but some of them were damaged. Several med-droids and human doctors rushed over with medicine and blankets. Of course, the containers had been thrown into space, so the would-be slaves suffered through a brutal wake-up.

- I… I didn't know, Han said looking up at Leia, this time with genuine regret in his eyes. They paid me… lots of money. And the only condition was that I didn't open the containers.

- Right… you're just a victim, Leia said sarcastically. You actually expect me to believe you?  
>- You think I'd have dumped the containers if I knew! Han shouted back.<p>

- Maybe that's the kind of person you are!

- Watch it lady! Han said getting up. He could feel his blood boiling, getting madder as he realized he had been used as a puppet.

Leia herself was starting to regret not killing the frustrating man when she had the chance.

- Solo, Liam interfered. Who was your employer?

- Jabba the Hutt, Han replied looking straight into Leia's eyes. I didn't know, he repeated.

- I believe you. After all, this was just a decoy shipment.

- LIAM! Leia screeched.

- What?

- You can't tell him _that._ We can't trust him! Leia protested.

- By now your brother should be out of danger. And besides, he may be a little rough around the edges, but he's a … relatively good man. Mister Solo, until we reach Coruscant you are to stay in your assigned quarters. There's an arrest warrant out on your head. If you cooperate with us, we might be willing to wipe your slate clean.

- How about you just be honest with me… what's this about me being a decoy?

- That is official Jedi business, which doesn't concern you anymore.

- Why do I get the feeling Jabba isn't the only one who used me.

Liam simply smiled courteously and then left the hangar, joined by his friend, Jempa. Leia stayed to throw Han one more hateful look.

- Why don't you take a holo picture princess, it will last you longer! Han said with a casual smirk.

Leia threw him a death glare and then looked behind him for an instant, before turning around and leaving. Han watched her leave her, but then jumped up after feeling something electrocute him in the back. R2D2 whistled happily a few moments and then quickly followed his mistress. Han could hear Chewbacca roaring behind him.

- Yeah Chewie… We weren't paid_ nearly_ enough.

**AN**: This is the chapter that I think suffered the most modifications. Specifically because my technical skills are that of an Amish person. The original version of the "space battle" went something like: "Damn Chewie, we lost both our boosters". There's no such thing as a booster on a Millennium Falcon. Ha! I'm still not happy with it but ah well. I resigned to the fact that writing space battles is not my forte. I'd be hard pressed to say what my forte actually is.


	12. This is your life

**Chapter 12 – This is your life**

_Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead_  
><em>Yesterday is a promise that you've broken<em>  
><em>This is your life, are you who you want to be?<em>

Switchfoot

- What do you mean he went in alone!

- Just that. He wanted to do it alone.

- And you let him!

- Leia, you know your brother. If he didn't listen to me when I was his master, what makes you think he would listen to me now.

A deep frown spread across Leia's delicate features, as Aayla Secura gave her the news. She was in the Coruscant Security Force HQ, checking with the Master Jedi over a secured com line.

She and her brother had been working on this case for the past 3 months, collaborating with the Coruscant authorities. This slave-ring, run by Ragadat Bin, was extremely well organized, and every time they felt somebody, whether Jedi or not, tracking them, they had to vanish without a trace and destroy all the evidence. That was until last month when Luke decided that the only way to catch them would be to send somebody undercover, somebody that could pose as a potential client. The Republican Intelligence Agency granted him a new identity. Ragadat's men were supposed to pick him up on Bespin and carry him off to an unknown location. Aayla was supposed to be his bodyguard, only Luke had decided at the last minute that bringing along a bodyguard could be interpreted as a sign of mistrust. The lack of one however, could be interpreted as insanity.

- So is he going to bring down the entire cartel by himself? Leia asked sarcastically.

- He promised me he would transmit the slavers' coordinates as soon as possible.

- How long has it been?

- 3 days.

- And he hasn't radioed in?

- Not as much as a peep.

Leia was getting worried, but Aayla was confident Luke could handle himself. Sure, he was a little head strong for his own good… but that was simply in the genes. The Skywalker blood. Besides, they couldn't very well round up some Jedi and create a search party. First of all, they had no idea where to look, second of all… the slavers weren't stupid. They had planned a decoy shipment, hoping that would throw the Jedi off their tracks. And for now it seemed like their little trick worked. The Jedi Council couldn't afford to do anything suspicious, anything that might blow Luke's cover. Aayla explained all this to Leia and the younger Jedi nodded her head in understanding.

She knew all of this. And yet she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. That her brother was in danger. The two shared a very close bond, but Aayla was right. They couldn't go to the Jedi council for help. She'd just have to do it on her own.

But first, she had to pay her father a visit.

Outside of the Police Station the crisp Coruscant air was not so crisp. Fellons and criminals were brought in by various security droids, and they weren't the most hygienic people in the world. Leia jumped in her fighter and set in the destination: the Jedi temple.

Under the control of the Jedi order, the republic had stabilized. The first few years after the war were the hardest, but her father managed to keep control by using the clone army. After all the systems vowed their loyalty, the democratic regime was reintroduced. The first chancellors were honorable men, that could see and understand the Jedi Order's irrefutable logic. Now, there was peace again, and except for the danger of the Sith that was still looming, the galaxy was safe. Over 5 thousand Jedi worked every day to keep it that way.

Leia reached the temple soon enough and entered it. She headed for her father's audience chamber. She could feel his strong presence from behind the door. She loved that presence, that power that demanded respect, something that she hoped she possessed also, if only in the slightest bit.

She opened the giant carpian wood doors and entered his chamber.

Anakin Skywalker was sitting in his favorite chair, reading an old philosophy book, written thousands of years ago. His once sandy blonde hair now had a graysh hue, and although his eyes were still a bright blue, the skin around them was slightly wrinkled. He was in his forties, but he still looked as healthy as possible for a normal human being, without any enhancements.

Except for his right hand of course.

Leia approached his chair and waited. He already told her all she needed to know. The two shared a very odd bond. She knew almost instinctively what he was thinking, and most of the time it was the exact same thing she was thinking. She homed this skill over the years, trying to emulate as much of her father as possible.

- Leia, he finally said getting out of his chair. He came over and simply squeezed her shoulders.

- Anakin, she replied smiling brightly.

- I trust everything went well on your mission.

- Yes. I have already written my report on the way here. You'll find it in the databank.

- Good. Did that Corellian give you any trouble? He asked amused.

- Trouble? Him? Don't make me laugh…

Anakin laughed in his usual restrained manor and then head over to his huge mahogany desk.

- Anakin, Leia began. About Luke…

- Yes. He isn't back yet. I heard that he refused Master Secura's help. Why do you think that is?

- He is… too confident in himself.

- Is he? I suppose you blame me for that.

- Of course not.

- I have been very lenient with Luke. But only because he works so hard… he has been taking many dangerous missions lately. I trust you noticed that. The feud on Bakura, and then that whole smuggler incident on Rodia, and now this. Very dangerous situations indeed. Why do you imagine that is?

- I… I think he only wishes to help people.

- You don't think he's doing this… to impress me?

- Why would he need to impress you?

- _Precisely._ Alright Leia. I know why you came here… You want to ask me permission to go off and search for Luke. Permission granted, but I urge you to be as discreet as possible. This is a very volatile situation.

- Understood father.

- You'll be on your own.

- Just the way I like it.

Leia considered the conversation done and headed for the doors when she heard her father calling her one last time:

- Leia. Master Yoda has expressed a wish to see you. You better go right now.

- How… is he?

- It's only a matter of time now, Anakin said lowering his head.

Leia left her father with his own thoughts and headed for Yoda's chamber. She sneaked in, walking on the tips of her toes, not making a sound.

- Surprise me you want, eh? Yoda said chuckling slightly. He was sitting in his bed, covered with a blanket. The bed, like everything else in the room, was tailored for his size. When she was a teenager, Leia loved Yoda's room. When it became obvious she would forever be short she reveled in the existence of at least one room in the Temple where she could feel like a giant. She grew out of these feelings, pun intended. After all, arrogance leads to the Dark Side.

- Of course not, Master Yoda, Leia said quickly realizing Yoda might pick up on her foolish memories. I just didn't want to disturb you.

- Heh, young people… He sat up on the bed and Leia quickly arranged his pillow behind him to make him more comfortable. Ahh, thank you. Nice to be taken care of, it is. After all this time of taking care of other people.

Leia smiled warmly and then added:

- And we are forever grateful to you, for everything you've done.

- Yes, yes, yes. That line, heard before I have. Grateful is good, but happy is better.

- It's not a…

- Leia. Please. Always honest you have been. Change that for me do not. Soon I'm going to die. Afraid I'm not. Death is easy. Regrets… worse are they.

- I can't believe_ you_ would have regrets.

- Oh…. I do. I do… For a second he had a faraway look, like he was staring at something right through Leia, but then his sight focused on her again. Sorry I am I didn't spend more time with you. You and your brother. Did not want to interfere with the way your father raised you, after what happened between him and Master Obi Wan. But now, short my time is.

- I wish you wouldn't speak like that.

- A great Jedi you will be, Yoda continued ignoring the girl's remark, but I wonder… What kind of person will you be?

- A good person I hope, she replied amused, obviously not taking the matter seriously.

- Indeed? Why you think a you are a good person?

Leia was taken completely by surprise and realized that master Yoda was serious. She stammered slightly.

- I… I'm a good person because I… want to make the world a better place. I want to fight evil.

- And who decides what is evil?

Although the words "my father" stood on her tongue, she quickly corrected herself and said:

- The Force.

- Right… a secret I shall tell you.

He made a hand movement indicating he wanted her to come closer, as if he was about to reveal some great secret that nobody else, not even the walls, could learn about. Leia leaned in, until she was only inches way from her master.

- Nothing is what it seems, Leia. The Force does not know evil from good. Trust the force to help you make the choice, _not make it for you_. Trust the force and your brother. They will show you the way.

- I don't understand master. What way?

Yoda placed his hand on his chest and frowned. He began coughing.

- Are you alright? Should I call a medi droid?

- No. Alright I am. Worry you should not. Especially about your brother. Reunite you will soon enough. Now go. And remember… what… I've told you. See Luke one last time I want, before I die.

- I promise you, Leia said clutching the master's small green hand, I'll bring him back.

Leia left her master, hoping that he would be better by the time she and her brother will get back. She didn't even want to think that he could die by then. He was master Yoda. He wasn't supposed to die. But then again, Obi Wan wasn't supposed to leave…

On her way out, the librarian caught up with her. Jocasta Nu's padawan, Talinda, took over her master's position with the Jedi order. She told her the Coruscant Security Force left her a message. Apparently, a very volatile suspect desperately wanted a meeting with her.


	13. Girl

**Chapter 13 - Girl**

_Is there anybody going to listen to my story  
>All about a girl who came to stay<br>She's the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry  
>Still you don't regret a single day.<em>

_Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure  
>Did she understand it when they said<br>That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure  
>Will she still believe it when he's dead?<em>

Paul McCartney

- What do you want? Leia said in a dry tone, plopping herself down on a simple plastic red chair. She was standing right in front of Han's cell. They were separated by a force field, and he was sitting on his cot, with his hands behind his head.

- Why, princess. So nice of you to come and visit.

- Cut the wise cracks, Solo. I've got no time and less patience for them..

- From what I pieced together so far. The real bad guys used me as a diversionary tactic. I think that's the military term, right? Which means the real business was done somewhere else, particularly where your brother was located. And as I hear your brother has been missing.

- Where did you hear that?

- I have my sources.

- This isn't a game, you idiot! Leia shouted getting up. My brother's life may be in danger. We can't afford an information leak.

- Hey, relax, he said getting up himself. That Jedi buddy of yours mentioned your brother earlier. So I figured I called you just to check if everything is okey. But since you came, that means everything is not ok. Because if this mission was truly over, you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me.

Leia gave her silent consent of his assessment.

- Now listen, where did you want to start your search?

- Like I'm going to trust you.

- These are real dangerous circles, princess. Even for a Jedi. Truth is, people take one look at you and your shiny little lightsaber, and they're gonna keep their mouths shut just like a garish worm.

- Garish worms don't have mouths.

- Exactly. Like it or not, you need me. You need a seedy element around you, an aficionado of the lower circles of society. You get me out of here, you let me fix my Falcon, and I'll help you find your brother.

- And what's in it for you?

- Besides the pleasure of your company, he said sarcastically, but then all of the sudden turned serious. I don't like slave traders, and I don't like being used. Let's just say I have my own scores to settle. Being a Jedi and all you can see that I mean what I say.

And he did… She could feel his determination.

- What do you know about Bespin? That's where my brother was last spoted.

- Bespin? You have to be kidding me... I know the guy who runs the whole operation. This is practically destiny. No... what do you Jedi like to say? It's the will of the Force, he said and brought his palms together looking towards the sky. Actually make that the roof of his cell. But the way he was mocking the Jedi Order did not escape Leia.

- However, You're going to be under my custody solely in an advisor fashion. You will follow my orders.

- Don't worry about me. I love it when the woman's on top, he said with a sexy smirk.

The force field that up until then had separated them deactivated and Leia casually entered his cell. Han was curious what she wanted to do. He felt a sudden force grab his legs from under him and he fell on his back with a thud. Leia quickly placed her foot right under his chin.

- In that case, she purred, we'll get along just _fine._

She emphasized the word "fine" by pressing down on his neck. She then left the cell to go talk to the Comissioner about taking custody of Han Solo. The Corellian caressed his neck, which now sported a boot print and whispered: "What a woman…"

...

- I'm telling you buddy, I'm starting to hate this idea. She's changing in the back. Made my ship her won personal_ boudoir_. Probably picking out new curtains by now. You know that they say it's bad luck to have a woman on board. And on top of all that, she had the _audacity_ to call my ship a "bucket of junk". That's a direct quote you know…

Chewbacca growled inquisitively.

- What did _I_ say? I said: "Look your worshipfulness. I don't care _who_ your daddy is! This is my ship and my rules! You don't like it… you're free to get out there and hitchhike".

- That's not how I remember it, a female voice was heard behind them.

Leia stood at the entrance of the cockpit, with all eyes, alien or otherwise, transfixed on her. She had changed her clothes and the color of her hair. It was now a dark blonde and braided, the braids hanging off her shoulders and back. She was wearing a grayish see-through blouse, with a crop top underneath. Her light brown pants were tight, like a second skin but looked comfortable. They went perfectly with her dark brown leather boots. Han had to conclude that the outfit was simple, yet sexy and just the thing that a twenty-something attractive bounty hunter would casually wear.

An awkward silence followed, as Han soaked up the sight. Eventually Chewie couldn't take it anymore and exited the cockpit, muttering on about "silly stupid human mating habits", as Han understood it. Leia took his place and looked at the panels, making sure they were on schedule for Bespin.

- That's what I _would've _said you know, Han finally enunciated and Leia turned to look at him. If I didn't know you could kill me without touching me in 13 different ways.

- 14, she corrected him.

- Right.

Silence ensued again… and Han found it difficult to find a proper subject of conversation.

- You know… it amazes me that some people still have slaves when droid technology has come such a long way, he finally said.

- It's not a matter of practicality as much as it is tradition, and culture does not subscribe to any kind of laws. Slavery is legal on several planets, but with the condition that the slaves are indigenous to that particular planet. Only problem is, the lower and middle classes have been emigrating for centuries now. So the upper classes find themselves in a dilemma. They don't have any poor people to turn into slaves. That's were the traders come in. They ensnare or kidnap millions of people from poorer planets and sell them to the highest bider. The people's memories are erased and then replaced with memory chips, so the slaves think they were actually born on the planet they were shipped to. That's why it's so hard to capture them. The whole business is… flawless, and quite lucrative, Leia concluded with a sad, yet empty look.

Han listened carefully and then whispered:

- I don't blame you…

- For what?

- For wanting me dead…before, when you captured me. Such people don't deserve to live, he added bitterly.

- No, Leia sighed. I was wrong. It is not my place to decide who lives and who dies, she said looking him straight in the eyes. I'm sorry about that.

- Don't mention it, Han replied, feeling a bit better about himself.

A Jedi actually apologized to him. Maybe this broad wasn't so bad.

- So… you're a Jedi, he said.

- I'm sorry, are you trying to make idle conversation?

- Yeah, I mean _yes_. Is it working?

- Not really.

- Why not?

- Because we have nothing to talk about, _obviously_.

- How will we know we don't have anything to talk about if we don't talk about it?

The Jedi rolled her eyes and then ignored the comment.

- Is it hard for you?

- Is what hard?

- Being a Jedi.

- It's not meant to be _easy._

- Yes but… is it harder for you then it is for the others?

- Why would it be harder for _me_? Because I'm a woman?

- Because of your father, _obviously._

- I didn't get any sort of preferential treatment because of my surname, if that's what you're implying.

- Stop putting words in my mouth, woman! I was just wondering if… there are higher expectations from you. That's at least what I figured. Everyone knows the House of Skywalker rules this galaxy. Do you even have any fun?

- A Jedi feels no passion, she said bluntly.

- Fun and passion arent' the same… hmmm.

Han stopped himself before finishing the thought, reconsidering it.

- What is it? Leia asked.

- I was just thinking that some of the funniest things require a bit of passion, while some of the most passionate things are _a lot_ of fun, he answered grinning.

- Your eloquence amazes me, the woman said rolling her eyes again.

- So you haven't answered my quest…

- Being a Jedi, she interrupted him, is not a burden, or a duty or even a job. It is a privilege and an honor. The Force has chosen me to be its voice and I cannot refuse, regardless of Anakin Skywalker or any other people in my life. I do not have fun, I do not engage in trivial pursuits, because I spend all my free time trying to better my skills so that I can better serve the Force. At the end of the day, being a Jedi brings me such satisfaction that someone like _you_ could _never_ understand. So please, stop trying to befriend me. You and I could not be more different.

Han listened patiently, trying to control his temper. For a second he thought she was different from the other uptight anal Jedi, all blessed with a holier then thou attitude. But he was sorely disappointed.

- You know… I don't know if I dislike you more as a zealot or as a hypocrite.

- Meaning?

- Meaning that you either actually believe all that crap, or you don't but you don't know any better.

- Don't worry your pretty little head. Just concentrate on the driving.

- You got it, _ice-princess_.

The atmosphere in the cockpit got really chilly. In fact… it was downright arctic, when Chewbacca's voice was heard through the intercom.

- Uh-oh.

- What does uh-oh mean?

- It means we got stowaways.

- They must be suicidal to climb aboard _this_ fossil.

- Enough with the jokes on the expense of my ship. Let's see what this is about.

The two reluctant partners climbed down to the cargo-hold where Chebwbacca was getting ready to fire his bowcaster at two very familiar droids.

- C3PO! R2D2! What are you doing here? Leia asked, surprised to see her two droids.

- Excuse me, miss Skywalker. It was all his fault! C3PO whined, pointing at the little astromec. He said you might need our help… he didn't trust the scruffy looking nerd herder.

- Hey! Han objected.

-So we snuck aboard… and we thought we were safe until this over grown bear rug tried to have us dismantled! So naturally we defended ourselves.

It was Chewbacca's turn to growl in protest.

- I'm touched by your concern, but this could be a very dangerous mission. Solo, we have to return them home.

- We can't turn back now… half a day and we reach Bespin. They can stay on the ship but tell the little guy not to zap Chewbacca anymore.

Chewbacca announced his agreement by moaning slightly and massaging his right arm.

**AN** - One of the hardest things to navigate around when I was writing this chapter is that I don't actually know how long it would take to get from Coruscant to Bespin. For the sake of the story I figured it would be about a day and a half, but in all actuality it should be considerably longer than that. It took more than a day for Han to get from Hoth to Bespin in ESB and they were practically neighbouring planets, whereas Bespin is 49.000 light years from The Core. Granted they were running from the Empire and made at least one pit stop. Should this be an issue with anybody, I'm just gonna argue that since the Empire never formed, technology evolved. and in this alternate universe, the Millennium Falcon is faster than it should be. :)


	14. Policy of Truth

**Chapter 14 – Policy of truth**

_You had something to hide  
>Should have hidden it, shouldn't you?<br>Now you're not satisfied  
>With what you're being put through.<em>

_Now you're standing there tongue tied  
>You'd better learn your lesson well,<br>Hide what you have to hide  
>And tell what you have to tell.<em>

Depeche Mode

The Millenium Falcon landed on Bespin after a 32 hour flight. Han Solo and Leia Skywalker were preparing to exit the ship.

- Here. Han placed something in Leia's hand.

- Shades?

- You should cover your eyes. They give you away.

- Excuse me?

- You have that Jedi patented "I'm so much better then the rest of you" look in your eyes.

- I don't think I'm…

- Please! Just wear the shades.

Leia sighed and put on the sun-glasses, following the aggravating man out of the ship. The morning air was cool and crisp. The sun was peeking through the heavy Bespin clouds. The two visitors were greeted by none other then the administrator of the city, Lando Calrissian.

- You say you know this guy? Leia asked in a hushed voice.

- We go way back.

- What does that mean?

- It means we got history.

- You could've been _married _for all I care. That doesn't mean he's going to help us!

- Just relax. Lando, hey, buddy. How're doing.

- That's mister Calrissian to you, the man said with a cold voice.

Han stepped back, wondering if his old friend was still carrying a grudge.

- Gotcha, Lando said smiling and then hugged the bewildered pilot. How ya been, ya old space pirate! Hope you're taking care of my ship.

- _Your ship?_ Hey buddy, I won her fair and square.

- Yes… that's all a matter of point of view, isn't it? And speaking of points of view, he drawled looking at Leia, I am certainly enjoying this one. And you would be my dear? he asked taking Leia's hand to kiss it.

- Kara Thrace. Bounty hunter.

- Hm, almost makes me wish there was a bounty on my head, he said kissing her hand.

- There is, you're just not worth the effort, Leia retaliated pulling her hand back.

- Hm. She's a feisty one Han. I like that in a woman. Now, let's get to my office. I understand you need my help with something.

- We're looking for this man, Han said turning on a holo projector that displayed Luke's image. Grafir Corona. He's an alterian duke, got his dirty little fingers in everything from illegal gambling to slave trading. I heard he passed through here a couple of days ago.

- A lot of people pass through Bespin. It's one of the few cities that aren't under the Jedi's direct control. They don't even have a garrison here. Not many planets can say that. As a result, Skywalker has imposed that lovely embargo on us, I'm sure you've heard about it. We've been taking off the trade routes. So you see… most all of the transports are done under total secrecy, and under the table. They aren't registered on any computers so I can't honestly tell you if your man has been here or not. You have the scourge of Skywalker to thank for that.

- The only reason Skywalker imposed the embargo, Leia explained with poorly hidde contempt, is because you refused to cooperate with the Republican authorities in surrendering known felons.

- People come here to be free.

- No…_ criminals _come here to be free. And you _let_ them!

Lando laid back on his chair and crossed his hands over his chest.

- I think it's about time you told me what's really going on here Han.

Solo sighed and looked on annoyed at his companion.

- You know, he said after a while, for a Jedi, you sure have a lot to learn about self control.

- SOLO! You're blowing my cover!

- Jedi? Lando asked intrigued. That explains a lot. You wouldn't happen to be Leia Skywalker, would you?

- Yes.

- Nice dye job.

- The man in the picture is, Han continued but was interrupted.

- Her brother, Luke Skywalker. I know.

- You do? Han and Leia asked at the same time.

- Yes… he came to see me. A couple of days ago, Ragadat, the head of a slave ring contacted me and asked for a ship. Just one ship, to transport some potential clients. He wanted one of my ships so the Republic wouldn't pick up the trail, knowing that Bespin doesn't let republicans or Jedi mettle in its affairs. Now, you know me Han. I may have done a lot of things I'm not proud of. but as long as I live, I will never condone slave trading… so naturally I wanted to tell him to go screw himself. That's when Skywalker came in. He said he's working undercover, trying to destroy the ring from the inside. He asked me to give Ragadat the ship he asked for, and in return for my cooperation, the embargo would be lifted. And that's it. I take it he hasn't returned to Coruscant like he was supposed to, otherwise you wouldn't be here, searching for him.

- Yes. Your intuition serves you well. Do you happen to know where they took him? Leia asked.

- Unfortunately, I can't help you there. The ship was returned to me but its navicomputer memory was erased.

- What about the pilot?

- He wasn't from here… but you _might_ find him in one of the casinos. He's got this little gambling problem. He loves to hit the sabacc and roulette tables from time to time. In fact, I believe he owes us quite a pretty sum…

- There he is… Leia announced looking straight at a plump Rodian, sitting at a sabacc table.

The casino was crowded, and Leia recognized a lot of people from the Galaxy's most wanted list in that place. She couldn't believe Luke had actually promised to lift the embargo on this wretched hive of scum and villainy, as she so eloquently put it. She and Han were seated at the bar. He was enjoying his Corellian ale when she quickly grabbed him by the arm and made him spill some of it.

- Having fun?

- I was...

- There he is. I'll take him to the back alley, you meet me there and we'll get the location out of him.

- Yes… we could do that and have half the city find out you're a Jedi so that we never leave the planet alive _or_… we could do this my way.

- Sitting here, getting drunk?

- That's only phase one, princess. Mindfuck and all aside, he needs something from us, we need something from him. Simple arithmetic really. I've been asking around and it seems he owes 30 000 credits to one of the local casino owners.

- We don't have 30 000 credits.

- Not now, but in the near future, he added pointing to the roulette table, anything is possible.

- Let me get this straight. You want _me_ to use my Force abilities to cheat at the roulette.

- Yes.

- My hard earned Force abilities, that required years of study, intense physical and psychological training to master?

- Yeeeees.

- Abilities that I'm only supposed to use in the name of good, justice and the republican way!

- Or we can just sit here and hope he's willing to share.

Leia rolled her eyes.

- I have a bad feeling about this, giving in and letting Han guide her to the roulette table.

It was easy enough to make the small metal marble fall where she wanted it too, almost too easy. Han got really excited really quick, and although he never had a gambling problem, he suddenly understood why winning could be so infectious. And it was all possible thanks to the lady beside him. She kept a boring look on her face, waiting for it to be over. Han felt a twinge of sadness that she wasn't enjoying it with him, but the feel of the dozens of chips in his hands made him feel a whole lot better. Soon they reached the sum of 15 000 credits. Han was on top of the world as he made another double or nothing bet. He placed all the money on 8 red, and right on queue, the ball stopped in the specified chamber. A wave of joy washed over him and out of the excitement he grabbed Leia and kissed her on the lips. He quickly released her, unaware that the girl had been taken off guard and was pretty shook up. He was oblivious however, and she was thankful for that. He had soft lips she noted but then quickly dispensed the thought, blaming it on the alcohol.

She looked around and saw that their little winning spree had caught the attention of the casino patrons. Han was getting ready to place another bet when Leia put her hand on his arm.

- We got what we wanted, now let's go.

- Just one more, please, he pleaded. We're on a roll.

- We're going to be in _trouble_ if we don't stop now. Let it go…

Han knew she was right… with a pained look he picked up the chips and went to cash in his winnings. The pilot didn't give it a second thought and told them all they needed to know in exchange for the money. Leia and Han quickly returned to the Falcon and entered the new coordinates.

The pilot took his money, happy he got a second chance at life… and then lost it all at the sabaac tables.

**AN** - That concludes the Wacky Adventures of Han and Leia. And yeah, Kara Thrace? That was my little shout-out to one of the best science fiction series ever.


	15. Letting the Cables Sleep

**Chapter 15 – Letting the cables sleep**

_You in the dark,  
>You in the pain,<em>

_You on the run,  
>Living a hell,<br>Living your ghost,  
>Living your end,<br>Never seem to get in the place that I belong.  
>Silence is not the way.<em>

_We need to talk about it._

_If heaven is on the way…_

Bush

A night and half a day passed, time which Luke spent working on the shuttle. Mara Jade had avoided him altogether, going on one of her hunts, but still… Every leaf rustle, every noise no matter how small and insignificant, startled him.

"Stop it! he snapped at himself. You're giving her exactly what she wants."

He was taking Mara's threat very seriously. He knew that she could be vicious, but more then that, she had found a way to worm inside his head, and that was the only thing that truly upset him. Her words were still ringing in his head.

_You know you turned out wrong. _

"Nonsense, he thought. Pure sith nonsense. What does_ she_ know about me? What _could_ she know?" She did seem to know an awful lot about Jedi lore, she knew about Obi Wan being his first master. Luke stopped his work and retraced his conversations with the sith woman. In any case, the fact that he had been Obi Wan's padawan wasn't a secret, neither was the fact that he and his father weren't exactly close. But there was something here. Something he was missing… Something that could be of vital importance.

Meanwhile, Mara Jade had returned from her hunt and was walking around through the main building, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. Not for herself, but just in case Skywalker decided to get creative. She was walking through one of the main hallways on the ground floor, the only sound to distract her attention being that of her own footsteps. The sound changed at some point… as if she had walked over a covered hollow space. She back tracked and knocked on the floor. Indeed, there was some kind of trapped door there. She got out her lightsaber and cut a round hole. She jumped in.

Although the room was dark an all too familiar stench filled Mara's nostrils. The smell of death and putrefaction. She lit up a couple of torches.

The room was an underground laboratory that had been sealed up, from the inside. There were still desks and cabinets, but most of them were empty. Around the corners were decaying bodies. They were nothing more then skeletons now, with rags draped over them. Judging by the huge craniums, the species was calamarian, both females and males. There were strong Force vibrations in the room, feelings that still lingered after hundreds of years, an aura of suffering and anguish.

"Skywalker, Mara sent out through the Force, get down here."

Luke was startled. He didn't know Jade could do that… what did this mean? Did they share some kind of connection? The thought scared him, but the woman called again: "Do you mind dissecting this _later?_ There's something here you should see".

Luke joined Mara in the make shift crypt and soon he sensed through the Force the same cold vibrations Mara had sensed. He however was more affected… He stretched out his Force aura, enveloping the room, in order to understand what happened. The two wondered around expressionless, briefly inspecting the bodies.

- They locked themselves in, Mara said looking at the doors overhead. This isn't a lab. It's a tomb.

- They were scientists, biologists. They were researching the grounds unique chemical proprieties. But something went wrong… An experiment that involved the soil around the facility. A bacteria was released …soon the animals started dying. An entire bioclimate destroyed, because of them. So they locked themselves in here. And they starved to death, thinking it would be a fitting punishment. In the end… they died of shame, Luke concluded and then shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Whatever he had been saying, it wasn't of his own will. Something of the old scientists was still in that place, and it spoke through him, and through Darth Pyra, though she hadn't said a word, she had felt it. They looked at each other, trying to understand what happened. Luke spoke first.

- I have to bury them…

- Excuse me? There are over 30 bodies here.

- I know, he whispered calculating in his head how much time he would need.

- Forget it, Mara said hastily.

- I _have_ to bury them. They deserve their rest.

- They're resting just fine… they're dead. They don't have a problem in the world, unlike you.

- What do you care what I do?

- What do you care about these corpses? They've been dead since before your granddaddy was born! Oh, wait… I forgot. You don't have a granddaddy.

- It needs to be done, he said and tried to go around Mara but she still got in his face

- Why! She asked with a slightly more desperate tone then she would've preferred. You don't know these people. You don't owe them anything.. Why are you doing this? Out of some inane sense of duty? Duty killed millions of people, didn't save one!

- We don't have duty because it's _convenient_. Quite the opposite… but that's not what this is about. He tried to gently push her out of the way but she resisted.

- No. It's about you wasting your time with some pointless task. When he tried to move aside she hooked his feet and pushed him down. If you want to do your little charity work, fine… but you do it on your own free time. Your first priority is the shuttle. That's if you want to stay alive long enough to bury your _buddies_.

She jumped out of the room and Luke sighed heavily, while getting up. He dusted himself off and took one more look around. Soon he would be back to finish what was started long ago and then hopefully these calamarians would have peace.

...

It was already midnight by the time Luke Skywalker finished installing and lining up the power cells into the shuttle. He then went in search of some digging tools, but found that every single shovel in the complex had been broken, smashed or simply rendered unusable. Obviously Darth Pyra didn't give up easily, but even she couldn't severe his link to the Force.

He went into the makeshift crypt and picked up every single body, carrying it one by one outside. Mara appeared out of nowhere, leaning against one of the building's walls, watching him. Using a flat piece of metal and various force abilities he digged an individual hole for every single group of remains. He covered all the holes at once, using the Force to push the ground in. When he was finished he said a calamarian prayer one of the padawans at the Temple had taught him. Mara rolled her eyes at his gesture.

"Is this guy for real?" she thought sarcastically.

- Hey, hero! She called out.

He turned around and saw she was holding out a small container. It was full with water. He came over and collapsed beside her, at what he considered to be a safe distance. He discreetly sniffed the container, just in case.

- Trust me Skywalker, she said with a wry smile, if I wanted to kill you, poison wouldn't be the way to go.

He took a big gulp and splashed some on his face, washing off the dirt.

- So why did you do that, she asked again, honestly?

He sighed in his usual manner, which was beginning to annoy her.

- Maybe it's the way _I_ show respect.

- But they're dead…

- Doesn't make their lives any less important.

- I don't get it… So they screwed up. Killed some animals, did some property damage. Why kill themselves over this?…

- Hundreds of years ago science was practically a religion to the Calamari. To fail on such a massive scale, it must've been the ultimate sin.

- And isn't taking your own life a sin?

- I should think you of all people would appreciate suicide. It makes your job easier, doesn't it?

- I don't appreciate anything or anybody that takes the easy way out. Life is_ supposed _to be a struggle, not a pleasure cruise. Death isn't a punishment, it's a reward. One should respect and love death. In death life finds its meaning, and in suffering, its strength.

- That's an interesting theory. You know it by heart?

- It's certainly more plausible then the ideas you jedi throw around trying to justify your tyrannical control over the universe.

- It's not about control…

- Oh please. If there's one thing you're anal retentive about it's control. _There is no passion. There is only peace. _Translation: When things get out of hand, ignore them completely.

Luke started chuckling.

- You are _so_ ignorant about what it means to be a jedi that it's almost funny.

- I'm not as ignorant as you think, she said in all seriousness.

There it was again, the feeling that he was missing something… or that she was hiding something.

- No you're not… which makes me wonder…

- Let me tell you something Skywalker, she quickly said changing the subject. Good, evil, Light Side, Dark Side… they are empty notions. Abstract dichotomist concepts created by feeble minds in the attempt to keep civilization from maturing passed its own puberty.

- You don't believe in the Dark Side?

- I believe in me. I believe in power. But most of all I believe in the two fundamental forces that govern the universe: creation and destruction. There is only one true universal constant and that is entropy. Everything that exists… will cease to exist at some point in time. Even the Force. It is creation manifested into a tangible energy form. If all creation seeks to destroy itself, it only makes sense that the true nature of the Force, is destruction.

- You said it yourself, Mara. Life can't be explained or rationalized so easily. We each have a purpose. A jedi's purpose is to prevent suffering.

- And a sith's purpose is to cause it?

- That's it in a nutshell.

- Well that is terribly depressing. My theory is much better. I do what I want, I take what I want, I follow my blood…

- Yeah right, Luke said making a sound that resembled a snort. You're just as controlled as I am, or did you paint that thing on your arm because you thought it was fashionable, he remarked pointing to her tattoo.

- At least my master lets me tend to my _basic_ human needs, which is more then I can say about your daddy.

Luke turned around to look her in the eyes and then spoke in his _most_ serious tone:

- My daddy would kick your master's butt any day of the week.

Mara blinked a couple of times, waiting to process his reply… and then erupted into laughter. She laughed with her whole being, falling to the ground with her head cradled in her hands as her body shook from the excitement. Luke joined her and together they spent the next 30 seconds laughing themselves into oblivion, like two old friends that shared a secret joke.

- Ahh, she sighed trying to regain her composure, that was priceless! What are you… 5!

- Just pointing out the obvious, he said with an innocent smile.

- I guess we're both whipped, she remarked.

- Yes. We are…

Another moment of silence followed, as green eyes met blue, before looking away, scared of what they might find in each other.

- I often wonder, he started, what kind of family we would have been, if my mother had lived. What kind of childhood Leia I could've had. Sometimes…

- Blablablabla, Mara interrupted him, stretching out the words. Blah…

- Why did you even open the subject if you didn't care to listen to me? Skywalker asked frustrated.

- I wanted you to get it off your chest, not bore me to death with your ramblings.

- I listen when _you_ ramble…

- That's because what I'm saying is interesting and most of the time actually has a point. It's not half assed melodrama that I've heard a billion and one times before. My mommy died, my daddy didn't love me, I'm too short and I can't dance, woe is me…

- And I suppose it takes a perfectly healthy family life to drive somebody to dedicate her life to death and destruction.

- Hey, I never said I didn't have my own problems, just that I didn't let them dominate my life. Nobody forced me into joining the sith order. It was a choice I made because I craved power. Power over my life, over my destiny…

- Over the lives of others.

- Now you're catching on!

- …like mine for instance.

- I'm getting there, she said with a smirk.


	16. Rain

**Chapter 16**** - Rain**

_Waiting is the hardest thing  
>It's strange I feel like I've known you before<br>I tell myself that if I believe in you  
>And I want to understand you<br>In the dream of you  
>More and more<br>With all my heart and all my soul  
>When I'm with you<br>That by sheer force of will  
>I will raise you from the ground<br>Everything strange,  
>And without a sound you'll appear<br>Everything wild,_

_And surrender to me._

Madonna

"SKYWALKER! Get out here!"

The frantic call woke the jedi from his sleep, and he darted outside. His senses came into full alert and he stopped himself before stepping foot outside the complex. It was raining, but not just any kind of rain… acid rain. Mara Jade was standing next to the ship, projecting a Force field over it and herself, shielding it from the pouring acid. Luke used the same technique to protect himself as he went over to her.

- You hold it right there… I'll open the doors to the basement hangar.

- Well hurry up already! I've already burnt my hands and it stings like a bitch!

Skywalker extended his Force and slowly opened the basement doors. They were slowly pushed into their caches, generating a metallic noise as they scraped against the sides. The jedi then concentrated on picking up the shuttle. Although he was perfectly capable of moving it by himself, he was surprised to feel Mara's own Force aura, as she contributed to the effort. After they lowered the vessel in the basement and sealed the doors, they ran back into the complex. The buildings seemed to be coated with some kind of substance that neutralized the acid. The shuttle however had not been so fortunate. Luke inspected the damage, but thanked the Force that the hull wasn't breeched. It did however have a few black marks. He went back up to find Mara searching through some of the cabinets for something against acid burns.

- The first aid kit is back in the west building, Luke let her know.

- Great, she said and threw her arms up. I have to go back in the frying pan because you couldn't get your ass up in time.

- It's not like I told you to stay outside at night, for the sake of preserving your dramatic exits, he snidely remarked.

- Well, if I wouldn't have been outside, mister Know-it-all, that ship would be a puddle by now!

Skywalker just rolled his eyes and sighed. He came beside her and gently grabbed her hands looking at the burn marks. There was one on her left wrist and another on her right hand, over her knuckles. He gently rubbed her hands.

- Ow! She yelped in pain. What are you doing? Let go…

- Just shut up and watch…

He continued rubbing, but at the same time imagined the burned skin cells… and the skin slowly regenerating, turning from burning red to a healthy pink. Her skin was even softer then he imagined. Mara was watching mesmerized as the jedi massaged the wounds away. After a few seconds her hands were completely healed.

- That's... that's amazing. She said looking up.

Luke was taken aback by her reaction. Her green eyes sparkled, filled surprise, curiosity and maybe... for the first time since he had met her, vulnerability. He could feel her emotions through the Force and knew that they were genuine. Somehow, he cracked through the shell of hate and animosity, and found something real… and it was beautiful.

- It's nothing, he said in a quiet tone, afraid to ruin the moment.

But the moment was ruined nonetheless. She realized he was still holding her hands and she snatched them away, rubbing her hands together.

- It's a nifty trick, I'll give you that, she said reverting to the old Mara. She stepped away and turned to look through a window, at the rain outside.

- It's nothing compared to what some of our healers can achieve back at the temple.

- Yes. I forgot about them, she whispered absently.

- What do you mean by that?

- What?

- You knew about Anakin's conception.

- So?

- Not a lot of people outside the temple know about that…

- Lucky me.

- It's not luck… He approached and leaned on the window frame, watching her intently. What is it you're not telling me?

- The rain is stopping, she whispered staring outside.

- You know a lot of things…

- I hope I'll still find some pray.

- Mara!

- Oh, we're on first name basis now, _Luke_? she asked irritated, as if the sound of her first name coming from him sounded more like an insult. Did we become buddies and I missed it?

- Tell me.

- There's nothing to tell. It happened long ago and there's nothing you can do about it now.

- _What _happened?

Mara crossed her arms and walked away. Luke felt like he was getting closer to the truth, so he quietly waited.

- About… 10 years ago, she began, my master realized that knowledge is power. Unfortunately the sith weren't the most organized of people and they didn't leave much for posterity. What they left had either died with Palpatine or was under Jedi control. So there was one thing to do… send somebody to Coruscant to bring back what was rightfully ours.

Luke's ears perked up and his attention focused on her words. All of the sudden an image flashed before his eyes, a memory buried somewhere deep in his subconscious.

- You had brown hair, he whispered. And brown eyes.

- I had to look as bland as possible, didn't I?

- I remember you… walking down a hallway. I passed right by you. Were you alone?

- No, there were others with me. We faked a couple of transmissions of jedi reporting in about sending force sensitives to the Temple to begin their training immediately and… intensively. Masters would be appointed later. Back in those days such practices were common. All we had to do is get in, wait a couple of weeks, get in the library, download every scrap of information, and within a month we returned to our own academy.

- I can't believe you were not detected.

- By whom? The jedi were to busy trying to prevent yet another civil war to worry about their padawans. After a while we would start underperforming, failing tests, pretend to not know any better. And the Jedi would just send us back. I'd like to take credit that we were _that_ good. But the fact is that you Jedi were simply _that_ stupid.

Luke was to shocked by this confession to say anything else. "How could we have been so blind, he asked himself. So arrogant. If only I could've noticed…"

- I'm sorry, he said after a while.

- Sorry for what? Mara asked puzzled.

- That I didn't notice you… maybe if I had. Things would have been different now.

- I think you're overestimating your abilities as a 13 year old padawan but now that you mention it… There was a moment when I doubted the path that I had chosen.

- How long did _that_ last? He asked, seeing through her act.

- About 0,67 seconds, she replied grinning.


	17. Sex, Lies and Power Converters

**Chapter 17 – Sex, lies and power converters**

_I got you crawling up a mountain,  
>Hanging round my neck.<br>I got you twisted round my finger,  
>Crawling round my legs.<br>The emptiness,  
>The craziness,<br>Satisfy this hungriness.  
>Darling,<br>How would it feel? _

Garbage

"Unbelievable…" Luke muttered to himself. "How could I miss this?" Right in front of my face".

While he was working earlier in the afternoon on the vessel he noticed a cable sticking out of the ground. It was one of several underground cables that led him from the scientific complex to a depository hidden inside a cavern in the mountains nearby. Apparently it was constructed by the same people to serve as a back-up facility in case the acid rain damaged the main compound. The only problem recent tectonic activity weakened the structure of the cavern and made it a lot harder to reach the facility. He had to walk along a rocky ridge, leading out the side of a cliff. It was exceptionally stiff, and it had been wider at some point in the past, but the tectonic activity reduced it to a shred of rock only 30-40 cm wide. He would need Mara's help for this trek, and for carrying back the power converters.

Luke decided to search for her and tell her about his findings. That was the excuse anyway. He knew that late in the night she would return to the compound, but he was curious to see what she was doing during the day, hidden away in the jungle. After extending his Force senses it was easy enough to pick up her trail. Over the course of the past 4 days the two developed a peculiar bond, that Luke preferred to avoid completely rather then explore the ramifications. It also dawned on him that he didn't think of her as a sith anymore, but rather simply as "Mara" or "Mara Jade". He hadn't thought of her as "Darth Pyra" since probably their very first day spent on the planet.

He suddenly heard a strange gurgling sound from in front of him, coming from a clearing. He approached it and then heard a human noise. He realized it was a woman's sigh. He treaded softly on the foliage and sneaked behind a tree, peeking over it to see what she was doing. Mara was relaxing in a hot spring, her back to him. Her clothes were lying in a pile on the ground a feew meters away from the spring. The idea of a naked Mara nearly made his knees buckle. He would have to be blind not to notice that she was an extremely beautiful woman, but all he could see at the moment was a mop of red gold hair, and a pale hand stretched out on the side of the spring while the other disappeared in the hot water. Her head was leaned back, and he could see the top of her forehead. Mara let out a small moan and moved her head to the side.

Suddenly a warm feeling enveloped his insides.

Luke froze when he realized what she was doing. He felt extremely awkward to have sneaked up on her while she was doing _that_. She was projecting her sensations through the Force, and he felt like a peeping Tom of the worst degree. Although the erotic nature of the situation made his insides burn, he decided to leave, until he heard it…

"Luke…" she whispered.

He leaned back against the tree, his eyes wide and his heart beating wildly in his chest. He squeeyed his eyes shut but bits and pieces of images floated around in his head, promises of pleasure that he tried to silence by repeating the jedi code inside his mind over and over again.

"There is no passion, there is peace... There is no passion there is peace..." He brought his hand to his chest and felt his heart pounding. He turned his head and felt the cool bark of the tree... He should leave, he should run, then why wasn't he? Why were his feet glued to the ground?

- Skywalker... either get out here and give me a hand or go away, but just don't stand there like an idiot.

He let out a huge breath considering his options. "I could run. Or I could run, or I could leave... and then there's always runing. No."

He got up and circled the tree, facing the stream. Mara was facing him. She crossed her arms over the side of the water bank, and she was resting her chin on them. Her hair was slicked back, and the moisture made her skin glow, while her green eyes glinted.

"She's a goddess" Luke thought for a brief second but then refocused his attention.

- I need you, he said. The woman raised her right eyebrow. I need you to help with something, the jedi quickly added, his cheeks turning crimson. I found a pair of converters, but they're stashed away in an underground cavern. It's not a very stable area and I need an extra pair of hands.

- I see, she said with an absent look and then turned around reassuming her initial position. I'm busy right now.

- Listen, he started trying to sound as calm as possible, the sooner I can get those parts, the sooner you can get off this planet, which is what you want, right?

- One thing at a time...

- You're not expecting me to sit around and wait for you. And could you please look at me when I'm talking to you?

- I would look at you, but alas a goddess can only do so much, she purred and Luke could feel the amusement in her voice, as well as the humility that creeped in his heart. She thought she had him all figured out... And let me assure you then I'm not _expecting_ you to do anything. Unlike other people I am open to all and any possibilities. I will help you, just not now. What you do with your time until then, is your own business. I have already invited you to join me...

- I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline, Luke forced himself to say.

- Come on Skywalker. A woman is only good for one thing, right?

He looked up and for the first time he didn't see a goddess, or a woman or even an enemy. Just an insecure little girl that didn't know any better.

- If you actually believe that, I pity you. You can find me at the compound.

He left her alone. Although her body was dipped in hot water, a cold shiver ran down Mara's spine, while she contemplated his words.

…

- You ready? she asked him, standing at the base of the trail leading up the mountain they were supposed to climb

- Ready as I'm ever going to be. I have a bad feeling about this mountain.

- You would.

They went up, passed the vegetation and up the rocky serpentines. They reached what appeared to be a bottomless pit, a mini-canion that cut right down the middle of their trail. The only way across was a ridge on the side of one of the two main slopes it cross-sectioned. The ridge was 300 meters long. It was also very stiff and irregular and in some places even disappered into the wall all together. It went up, leading to an upper plateau where the cavern was located.

- I gotta hand it to you Skywalker, Mara whispered. You sure know how to pick 'em.

- One slight tremor and we could fall over, he noted

- And we _will_ fall over. We should make some kind of life line.

- Why did you think I brought you along? he muttered holding a jumble of vines in his hand.

The two grabbed the opposite ends and tied them to their waists. Mara went ahead on the ridge, Luke following her closely.

Suddenly, Luke stepped on a loose rock and almost slipped, but pulled himself up. A few rocks tumbled down into the black abyss, disappearing without creating a single noise. He sighed in relief but then felt a disturbance in the force. Mara had felt it too and looked down at the pit below them. There was something down there... they heard a distant noise. Something sharp and high pitched, resembling a bird call. The noise grew in intensity... the darkness was penetrated by hundreds of little, blinking lights. Eyes that were getting closer. Mara soon found herself enveloped in hundreds of flapping wings, sharp claws and pointy beaks. A veritable wave of winged creatures rushed over her, causing her to lose her balance. She felt over the ridge screaming, but Luke anticipated the move and braced himself, holding the life line tight, supporting himself with the extra hand, using the Force for more balance. The creatures flew away through an opening in the ceiling, and left their victim dangling against the rocky walls. Mara was whimpering slightly, but regained her composure. She pulled on the vine trying to climb it. The pressure weakened the rope considerably, and with the added strain of brushing against the ridge, it could've broke at any second.

- Mara, stop moving! Luke yelled out, through greeted teeth. Sweat gathered on his forehead, and his back screamed in pain from the effort. I'll pull you up, but don't move. He let out a breath and then extended his force Aura, so as to envelop Mara and try to calm her down. He felt her presence and her aid, as an unexpected rush of force filled his muscles. He gently pulled her up, encircled her waist and placed her back to the wall. She was panting slightly and trembling.

- Come on, he whispered. Let's get out of here. Follow my lead.

He sought her presence in the force and channeled his idea. She immediately understood and focused on making it happen. They imagined that the ridge they were standing on was actually wider then it really was, visualizing the extra centimeters of rock and sediment and then stepped on it as if it were real, when it was actually a make shift force field. To a third party, it looked like they were walking on thin air. They reached their destination in a couple of minutes, working together. Mara was still clinging to him when they reached the plateau.

- You... you saved my life, she whispered staring at him wide eyed. She had that marveled look in her eyes, the one he had noticed earlier when he had healed her hands.

- Well, that's what Jedi do.

- No, that's what _you_ do...

Without further notice she kissed him, hard on the lips. His mind went blank, as he was completely shocked by the gesture. His body however, reacted in a very natural way. His arms went around her waist, supporting her. She used her body to push him forward, until he hit his back on a hard surface, and she came to lean on him, kissing him again, coaxing his lips to open up and let her inside. Luke however, was oblivious. He was to busy trying to get a handle of his own emotions, his pulse pounding in his ears. Through the haze he saw himself cupping the back of Mara's head, feeling the silky texture of her hair between his fingers, marveling at how wonderful everything felt, how amazing her soft body felt as she was kissing him and caressing his neck. But his conscience's voice was still loud and clear.  
>"What am I doing? I have to stop this..."<p>

One of her hands slided down.

"What is she... ah."

He opened his mouth on reflex when he felt the touch and she took full advantage if the situation, her tongue slipping in. The kissing stepped up, and Luke soon returned the favour, exploring Mara's mouth with his tongue. She pulled back for air and he ahd another moment of clarity. Fear and shame soon followed.

- Do you want me to stop? Mara asked in a husky voice and moved her sinful hand up and down.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut, delicious sensations filling his body. He gasped and found it very hard to form any coherent thought. She then moved her hand away...

- N-n-no... he said on reflex, his body screaming for her to come back. It was just a physical response, and she knew it.

- Look at me. She raised his head, holding it with ehr hands and stared into his stormy blue eyes. Do you want _me_?

He looked at her emerald green eyes, and figured it was time to stop lying to himself.

- Yes.

Mara smiled, like she had heard all of the things running through his head. She kissed him getnly on the lips and again, slided a hand downwards. it stopped on his stomach and she pulled back slightly. Her eyes were now yellow, with blood red rings around them. She sneered and her nails turned into black razor sharp claws. She pierced his flesh and cut deep into his abdomen. Luke threw his head back, screaming in agony...

...

He woke up panting. He was covered in sweat and his chest hurt. He looked around confused. He was at the compound and it was already nighttime. Mara was snoozing a couple of meters away from him, her back to him. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head. He remembered trying to get into a jedi meditation trance, but something must've gone wrong and he fell asleep completely, trapped somewhere between a jedi trance and a normal sleep cycle.

He got up and walked outside, heading for the river. He didn't have showers here, but the icy cold water of the small river waterfall would have to do. He could also take some time to think…

Mara listened carefully for his footsteps and then opened her eyes once he was gone. Two green gems piercing the darkness with their glint.

**AN** - Finally, some sexy action. :)


	18. Hanging by a Moment

**Chapter 18 – Hanging by a moment**

_Desperate for changing  
>Starving for truth<br>I'm closer to where I started  
>Chasing after you<em>

_Forgetting all I'm lacking  
>Completely incomplete<br>I'll take your invitation  
>You take all of me<em>

_I'm living for the only thing I know  
>I'm running and not quite sure where to go<br>And I don't know what I'm diving into  
>Just hanging by a moment here with you<em>

Lifehouse

- Back? Mara asked looking up from her plate. It was morning already, and she was having her breakfast.

- Yes, he answered simply gathering what little tools he had in a nap sack.

- I thought disappearing into the night was my M.O..

- And you're still the best at doing it. Are you ready?

- For our salvage mission? Sure. Lead the way.

…

- I gotta hand it to you Skywalker, you sure know how to pick 'em.

The comment made him startle, as he remembered his vision. She had said the exact same thing in his dream, which meant that it _must_ have been some type premonition. Or it could've been just a coincidence, only jedi didn't believe in coincidences.

- I'll lead, he said stepping on the ridge first, but Mara pulled on the life line bringing him back.  
>- Excuse me? I'm the one with the better danger sense. I should lead.<p>

- No, he said bluntly. I already explored a lot of this mountain, I know it better. You can either follow me or leave.

- Fine, she said throwing her arms up. After you, Your Highness.

They started their trek on the ridge, Luke leading the way. After advancing a few more meters, Luke spotted the metal doors of the depository. They would soon reach the plateau.

- Come on Mara. We're almost there.

- Woop-dee-doo. She paused. Hey… did you feel that?

- Feel wha… He stopped when he felt the rock beneath his fingers and feet vibrate slightly. "This isn't supposed to happen" he thought surprised.

- Uh…

- Oh, she finished for him.

The vibration increased and little pebbles from above their heads dislodged, falling into the abyss.

Hang on! Luke shouted as the earthquake grew in intensity and bigger and bigger chunks of rock fell around them.

To what!

He looked around frantically, but the ridge crumbled beneath their feet and Mara and Luke lost their support, falling into the pit. The wind rushed past their years, the darkness threatening to swallow them. Approaching fast was a segment of rock connecting two sides of the pit and he tried to use the force to alter their trajectory. Their momentum was cut short, when the lifeline hooked on the make shift bridge and their bodies slammed against each other, and then were left hanging.

- You okay? Luke asked.

- Well, besides the fact that I was nearly cut in two, I'm doing just peachy. She brought her hands up to support herself on the rope.

- Don't look down.

- Don't worry, I know it's a long way down.

- No, seriously. Don't. Look Down.

Right on queue, the swarm of winged creatures from his dream, enveloped their bodies, in their journey to reach the ceiling. Luke figured the commotion might make them restless. Mara however didn't enjoy the feeling of the fluttering of wings across her and projected a wall of fire around them, turning the animals into ashes as they flew passed them.

- So Skywalker, how's it hanging?

- I'm doing ok, but I'm not the one who ate the big breakfast earlier.

- Don't remind me, she said her face mimicking sickness. Anything you want to tell me?

- About what? He asked looking up and pulling on the vine, trying to figure a way to climb up.

- Come on. We knew there might be quakes and you were spooked as hell when it happened.

- Quakes tend to surprise me.

- But this was different, like you knew what was going to happen… feeling inspired yet?

Luke sighed and dangled for a few seconds on the vine, before confessing:

- I had a vision last night.

- A vision? Of us?

- Yes.

- Coming here?

- Yes.

- And the quake wasn't part of your vision?

- No.

- Well how do you know it was a premonition then?

- There were other things that fitted.

- Aha… and what else did you see?

-An awkward silence followed.

- Hello?

- It doesn't matter now. We should focus on getting out of here by ourselves.

- Oh… I understand. It was one of _those_ visions.

- What? He asked confused. What do you mean by that?

- Hey, it's alright. I understand. But the least you could do is share it with me. I mean, you spied on _me_ yesterday.

- I wasn't sp- he started in a slightly panicked voice but then stopped and corrected himself – I wasn't spying. I just came to talk to you and you were obviously preoccupied. I thought it would be rude to interrupt. I think we can levitate, he said looking up.

- You mean together?

- Yes, but we have to synchronize… close your eyes.

- You're not gonna kiss me are you? she asked raising an eyebrow.

Luke chose not to dignify that remark with an answer.

- Because if you do, I might puke in your mouth. Just saying.

They closed their eyes and sought each other's presence in the Force. They concentrated on the image of them rising in the air, together as a single body, and slowly their bodies began to levitate, reaching over the edge and then stepping on it.

- Nice. Now what? Mara observed looking around, and rubbing her hands over her bruised stomach.

- Now we climb…

...

- So you're not going to tell me about this vision of yours, are you? Mara asked after they had been climbing for half an hour. Luke was in front, and Mara followed.

- Nope.

The top of ridge, or what was left of it, was already visible surprising Luke. It felt like they had fallen for so long, that it would take a lot longer to reach the top again.

- Was I good at least? Oh, what am I saying? I'm always good.

Luke rolled his eyes at her comment.

- Now I know what's been dragging me down… all that ego.

- So is that why you stayed out last night? Mara asked, ignoring his comment. The vision?

- That and… other things.

They reached the ridge and sat down, taking a break. They were both exhausted and covered in sweat. They took a few minutes to stare into the abyss that could have been their permanent resting place. That lifeline saved their lives.

- What kind of things?

- Why are you so interested in finding out?

- Because there's something different about you.

- Different how?

- I don't know… like you just woke up from a deep sleep.

- I haven't woken up yet, but I think I finally realize that I _have_ been sleeping. We all have… Jedi I mean. We pride ourselves with our ability to communicate with the Force, but… Palpatine for instance. He was right there, and we didn't detect him. Then you came along, and you were right there, among us, and we still didn't detect you. I think the Force is trying to tell us something.

- Like what?

- Maybe it's time for a change, he said staring at the view in front of him. I'm not saying you're right mind you, because well… It's physically impossible for me to say that you're right, but they do need to open their eyes, see the world as it is, not as they want it to be.

- Congratulations Skywalker, you're finally starting to sound like a jedi.

Luke smiled but his eyes held a sadness inside, that could've escaped anybody else's attention, but not Mara's.

- Hey, what's with the look?

- What look?

- That "woe is me" look you have perfected by now. What is it?

- Are you in the mood for half assed melodrama or something?

- It's something more then that.

Luke stil hesitated but in the end threw up his hands in the air and said:

- Ah, what's the difference. You're going to kill me anyway, right?

- Or something much worse, either way, not leaving this planet in one piece, she answered grinning.

- Well, in that case. It was something you said yesterday… you said you chose your life. Last night it got me thinking, did I ever make this choice? I can't remember thinking: "Alright, I want to be a jedi, everything I do from now on it's to serve that purpose." Because I never did. Me and my sister… we were born to this life. We never had a choice. And while we both embraced it, right now I'm not sure I ever really wanted to be a jedi.

Well what _do_ you want?

An image flashed before his eyes, and he found himself back in his dream…

"Do you want _me_?" he heard her ask…

He shook his head, and tried to focus.

- Right now I want to get off this planet, he said getting up and dusting himself. He then extended his hand, offering it to Mara. She smiled, and grabbed it helping herself up.

- It won't be long now, he said pointing at the metal doors that were showing above them.

**AN** - In describing these "mountain climbing" scenes, I think you can really tell that english is not my first language. Ridge, slopes, plateaus, walls. Do mountains have walls? I don't think so. :) But heh, it's the best I could come up with. If people have problem understanding the setting, I hope you'll let me know.


	19. Freak of the World

**Chapter 19 – Freak of the world**

_Don__'t want the sun to shine upon my face  
>And I see your eyes and their glazy haze<br>Your lips don't move  
>But I hear what you're saying<br>I look outside through the razor blades  
>And I crawl and I scrape and I feel for you<br>But there's nothing  
>There's nothing that I can do<em>

Puddle of mud

"Sunlight never felt so good" Luke thought as he walked out of the cave, holding one of the power converters in his left hand. His eyes stung a bit but he welcomed the sensation. He looked behind to see Mara coming out of the cave herself. He skin was covered in black smudges and stains, a souvenir left over from their trek through the cave. He saw her in a whole new light since he had made some very intimate confessions and she didn't comment once. She didn't laugh at him, she didn't make any snide remarks. She was remarkably polite and almost… supportive. He put the power converter down and waited up for her. They had cut off the lifeline some time after picking up the converters since it made it very hard for them to walk on the already fragile ridge.

She came out squinting her eyes, but stopped right at the entrance. That's when Luke's danger sense kicked in. Something was wrong. The power converter that he placed by his foot suddenly slided over to Mara's side, as she waved her hand. Luke heard a growl from his left and he turned to look just in time to see a predatory looking creature leaping towards him.

It hit him in the chest and propelled him backwards, causing him to fall down. The creature had a long snout and fangs, but was also very powerful. It was no bigger then one of his father's pet noghris, but covered in thick fur, with green sparkling eyes and long black claws. Luke tried to fight it off. The animal growled viciously and tried to literally bite his head off, but the young man was holding it back by it's neck. Another two animals appeared, and each of them grabbed a leg and bit into it.

Mara not only didn't attempt to help him, but she seemed to enjoy the show.

- Remember what I told you about consequences? Didn't think I'd forget did you?

Luke used the force to push the first animal off of him. The creature slammed with its back against a tree and appeared to be knocked out. The jedi attempted to use the Force to mentally control the other two creatures but there was already a presence there, manipulating their actions. He had never felt so angry in his life, mostly at himself for letting his guard down, letting Darth Pyra get the upper hand. Adrenaline soon filled his body and instinct took over.

One of the animals jumped for his throat but he caught it. With his right leg freed he kicked away the animal that was biting on his left leg. He then threw the other best in it's direction, knocking them both out. He got up slowly, but felt a sharp pain in his back. The first creature, the biggest and most ferocious, jumped on his back and bit him. Luke ran backwards and slammed his back into a tree, nearly crushing the animal, but the little demon still held on tight. Luke repeated the move again… and again and then finally reached out with his hands and grabbed the creature, yanking it off his back. He held it by his neck and then applied pressure between it's small vertebrae, snapping it's neck. He let the body drop to the ground. He was panting, his chest rising and lowering in its own natural rhythm.

Mara watched in fascination. His body was covered in dirt and sweat and blood. The animals had ripped off the white tank top he had been wearing, so now his muscles gleamed in the sun. His hair sticked to his face and his eyes were bright and alive.

- _Exquisite_, she whispered.

She began her slow, seductive walk. Luke was standing perfectly still, waiting… for something. Mara brought her hand to his cheek, feeling the warm flesh, and her eyes sparkled with desire. She ran her tongue over her lips, preparing for…

Luke grabbed her wrist and then her other hand, shaking her forcefully.

- Remember this moment Mara Jade. Remember it well. This is the moment when a jedi, a loser, a pathetic wreck of a human being… rejected you. He pushed her forward and she landed on her butt. Now tell me… what does _that_ make you?

Luke threw her one last look full of disgust and then turned his back on her. Mara at first lay still on the ground, but soon she started shaking, her hands balled up in fists, her fingernails biting into her flesh.

"_How dare he…"_

…

Luke was heading for a lake nearby the compound to wash up his wounds when he heard her scream. He turned halfway around and spotted the glow of her lighstaber. He leaned back and felt the blade rush over his chest. He took a few steps back, and Mara attacked him again, but he avoided the blade by twisting his body backwards. She attacked again and again, but her swings were imprecise and sloppy. Luke could feel her bitter rage, the dark, powerful emotions within her soul at that moment. They were so strong it made even him dizzy.

- Mara, calm down! He tried to appease her but to no avail. He felt his body being pulled into her lightsaber but he resisted, conjuring up protective force fields. She came at him, swinging her lightsaber but he leaped, landing into a tree. Mara concentrated and threw a fireball in his direction, and he was forced to leap from branch to branch, trying to avoid her fireballs.

"_Kill you…"_ he heard but he wasn't sure if she actually said it or if she had sent it through the force. He leaped, somersaulted into the air and landed behind her.

- You need to chill out he said breathlessly and then pushed her forward using the Force. Her body glided through the air tens of meters and until it finally dived into the lake, disappearing into its murky waters. Luke fell to his knees exhausted and took a few deep breaths. He waited for Mara to come out of the water and finish him off or cool down… but seconds passed and she didn't show. He searched her presence through the Force and knew something was wrong. He ran over to the lake and spotted her, floating face down…

- Mara! he yelled out. She wasn't moving. He jumped into the water and swam to her body he quickly grabbed her and paddled back to the shore. He pulled her body on the ground. She was still breathing… but when he pulled back his hand from her head he spotted blood.

"She must've hit her head on something when I pushed her" he thought.

Her lightsaber was floating in the middle of the lake. He extended his hand and the weapon flew in it. He was now in control. Just like his vision. He could save her life, or he could end it now… He activated the blade and felt the weapon hum to life. He brought it to her neck, to test himself. Could he do it? Just one swing, just one quick jerk… and Mara Jade, Darth Pyra, would be no more. _She_ would not hesitate.

But he wasn't a sith. He was a jedi. More then that, he was a man. Despite whatever insecurities or doubts he might have, he could not kill somebody in cold blood.

He deactivated the saber and hooked it on his belt. He then picked up her body in his arms.

…

Luke was working in the basement on the shuttle, installing the power converters, when he felt it. She was awake. He couldn't tell what her emotional state was, but physically she was alright. He had bandaged her wound and used enough meds to speed up the healing process without doing damage to the immune system, she should be doing alright. He wasn't sure however how she would react once she would discover her lighstaber was missing.

He went up to check on her. He found her sitting on a window's ledge, hugging her knees and staring through the window with a blank look on her face. She looked just like a little child in the second, a sad little girl staring off into nothing. It made him apprehensive, but he decided to approach her anyway.

- Mara? Are you ok?

She turned to look at him, but it was like she was looking right through him. Her eyes darted from his face to her lightsaber and then back to his face again. He was wearing gloves this time, in case she thought to try her heating up trick again. Luke didn't like the silence so he continued talking:

- Listen, I'm almost done with the shuttle. It's going to be a tight fit but I think we can both…

Mara laughed in a bitter, almost melancholic way.

- You fool, she muttered.

- Excuse me?

- You don't get it, do you? You have sealed your fate. You're going to_ die_ here… best you can hope for is I do it fast.

- What in blazes are you talking about?

He was confused, and he hated being confused. The woman was obviously deranged.

- I thought you were different. I thought you understood, she said absentmindedly, staring at the floor.

- Understand what?

- That life cannot exist without death, she said in an angry tone, her vision fixated on him. That living means killing. How can you expect to understand the universe if you live your life by your so called principles.

- Those principles are the reason you're standing here today.

- Exactly! And they're the reason why tomorrow you will be dead!

Luke didn't know what to say. She was angry but instead of the usual fiery presence he felt, all he could feel now was bitter despair. What happened to the woman he was speaking to just the previous morning. Could his rejection had hurt her so badly?

- Get out! He heard her yell. He was probably projecting his thoughts, and that last one surely must've upset her. I said _get out_!

A concussive force hit him in the face, and he swinged his head back. When he brought it up, his nose was bleeding.

- Fine! He yelled back irritated before turning around to leave.

He paced around outside trying to figure out what to do next. Luke wasn't in the habit of cursing but try as he might he could not get the words "crazy fucked-up she-devil" out of his head. And that certainly wouldn't help the situation if Mara could hear him. But it did make him wonder what other tricks she had up her sleeve if she was so confident she could kill him, even without her lightsaber.

Being in control wasn't just about who gets to hold the weapon, it's about who is more stable upstairs. And at the moment he was that lucky bastard. He felt sorry for Mara, though he didn't know exactly why. It's obvious something made her snap, and he needed to find out what that something was very quickly.

For her sake _and_ his…


	20. Everything about you

**Chapter 20 – Everything about you**

_After every hit we take  
>Every feeling that I get<br>But I haven't missed you yet  
>Every roommate kept awake<br>By every sigh and scream we make  
>All the feelings that I get<br>But I still don't miss you yet_

Three Days Grace

He started the back burners, he engaged the thrusters and then, holding his breath, he started the engines… All the metal panels vibrated and shook against each other, the whole ship going into spasms. It "coughed" a few times, the engines threatening to give in to the pressure. Just when Luke stretched his hand to shut down the engines, the ship left its landing track, and hovered above the ground. The onboard navicomputer asked for a destination. Instead Luke asked for a status report on the hyperdrive and the computer replied: Operating at 63% efficiency. "It works, he thought and he couldn't contain his joy. This old bucket of junk actually works. Wait til Ma…."

He shut down the systems but remained in the cockpit. Mara. She disappeared sometime yesterday, and hadn't returned yet. He was getting worried. She wasn't in the best of states when she left. Right on queue, he looked outside and he could see her through a glass screen, looking at him with a blank stare.

He quickly jumped out of the cockpit and went next to her. She fidgeted slightly and seemed shy, almost insecure. He had never seen her this way. Her thoughts were hidden behind a barrier and emotionally she was projecting an image of numbness. She avoided his stare and then quickly placed something in his hand.

Here, she said simply.

Luke couldn't believe his eyes. His lightsaber.

- How… I thought I lost this on the Liberator. You had it all along?

Mara remained quiet, avoiding his eyes.

- Why would you… why would you keep my lightsaber?

- Would've made a nice trophy, don't you think? And it's a good thing I kept it, too. This what we're gonna do. One fight, to the death. Winner gets the shuttle. I figured I owed you this much.

- We don't have to do this. We can both survive. We can both make it out of here.

- No Skywalker, she said extending her hand. We can't.

Her lightsaber flew in her hand from where it was resting on Luke's belt and she activtated it. She lunged forward, swinging her weapon in a perfect circular arc, aiming for the top of his head. Luke blocked her at the last second with his own saber, but the force of her strike made his right knee give in. She pushed down, her blade just centimeters away from his face.

- Why are you doing this? Luke asked, the effort evident in his voice.

With his free hand he grabbed a handful of dirt. Mara remained silent, her eyes empty of emotion. He shoved the dirt into her eyes and pushed forward, taking advantage of her disorientation. She wiped the dirt from her eyes and then swung around, but he was gone. She extended her Force aura, looking for any traces of him. She entered the compound's main building. It was already evening… and getting darker by the minute. The red light of her weapon was reflected by the dozens of glass receptacles.

- You can hide, but you can't run, Mara said as she peered through the rooms, looking for her target.

- I will not fight you! Came the answer under the form of an echo.

- Don't let your fear overcome you jedi. I'm really not that good, she said jokingly.

- I'm not afraid of you…. I'm afraid_ for_ you. There's something very wrong with you Mara, but I can help.

- Help! You can't even help yourself. This is who we are. This isn't one of your silly fantasies. Face it Skywalker… she cut a whole through the floor and landed in the basement where Luke had been hiding. In a second she was above him, holding him by the neck… I don't _want_ to be saved.

Luke slapped her hand away and activated his lightsaber. Her last comment brought a revelation with it.

- That's right, you don't want to be saved… you want to die.

Mara's eyes grew wide and an expression of fear rushed over her face, but was replace by anger soon enough. She threw a fireball in his direction but he jumped out of the way and through the hole she had cut earlier. She jumped after him and assaulted him with a flurry of vicious lightsaber moves, quick and sharp, combined with acrobatic moves. Luke had a tough time of dodging all of them and a couple of times came close to having his head cut off.

- That's it isn't it, he said in the middle of the duel. That's why you got so upset when I saved your life. That's why you're doing this now. You want to die and you thought I'll be the lucky bastard that takes you out. But you messed up. I don't want to kill you.

He deactivated his lightsaber.

That does make _my_ job easier.

She twirled her lighstaber around and then lunged forward, but he jumped out of the way. The lightsaber in turn sliced through one of the building's support pillars, and the walls trembled from the added pressure. Mara attacked again, and again, and each time Luke avoided the weapon, the building had to suffer. Pieces of wall and ceiling began to fall around them. Mara used the force to stop a couple of them and throw them in Luke's direction, but he used the lighstaber to destroy them. He climbed to the next floor, but instead of using the stairs, Mara simply blew a hole through the ceiling and jumped up, reaching the next floor before him and taking him by surprise. She threw him against a wall and then swung her leg around to kick him. He crouched down and her leg landed in the wall, creating another hole. He came up behind her and pushed her face forcefully, but painlessly into the wall.

- Why Mara? If you're so happy with the choices you've made, with the life you've made for yourself, then why are you so eager to end it?

- I can't stand your holier then thou attitude! She jerked her head back and hit him in the nose. I hate you! I hate everything about you!

Luke, angry and frustrated, activated his lightsaber, and blocked her attack. The floor they were standing on, without it's support pillar, tumbled over, half of it crashing into the bottom floor, creating a sort of slide. The two warriors leaped into the air as the concrete mass shifted it's positioning, continuing their duel in the air, before gravity intervened and they fell back down, sliding on the surface. They came up against a wall again, and Mara tried to pin her opponent down, but he shifted his position and in the end she was the one pined down, with an arm holding her neck down and the other immobilizing her right arm.

- Enough! Tell me. Tell me why you want to die!

- I don't! Mara shouted, letting her stress and emotions take over. I want to live, ok? She continued eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Only I want to actually feel alive! Feel _something_!

She closed her eyes, and remained quiet, the stress of the last couple of days finally getting to her. Luke's mind was racing, assaulted by the sensation that he and Mara were not that different. She could deceive herself that she loves the pain, the suffering, the torment, but in the end it only served to leave her numb. In contrast, Luke was taught ran away from pain and attachement. Coming from two opposite opposite sides of the spectrum, somehow he and Mara found themselves in the same spot, wanting the same thing.

- Me too, Luke whispered refocusing his attention on the woman in front of him.

The rest of the world disappeared into nothingness and all was left were a pair of blue eyes looking into a pair of green eyes. Something stirred in their souls, and Luke brought his face closer to hers, feeling her hot breath on his cheek. Her lips were trembling in anticipation but neither had the strength to make the final step.

In the end it was Mara who raised her body on her toes and closed the gap between them, their lips coming together. It was a gentle kiss, just a faint brush of lips, a promise of things to come if nothing more, but it was still enough to send an electric shock through both their bodies. When their lips parted, Luke rested his fore head on hers, but they were still not letting go of their lightsabers.

- Breathe, Mara whispered.

- I'm trying, he replied, smiling.

She ran her left hand over his cheek, like a blind person that was trying to see by feeling. He definitely needed a shave.

She slided her hand on the back of his arm. She looked at him waiting for him to stop her, but her hand reached the hilt and deactivated the weapon. Luke closed his eyes, realizing that there was no turning back now. She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him forcefully, nibbling on his bottom lip. He circled her waist and brought her closer to him…

A chunk of rock fell near their feet, bringing them out their trance.

The building was falling around them. The floors, collapsing one on top of each other, the walls crumbling under the pressure. Luke grabbed Mara's hand and quickly cut a whole in the wall beside them. He jumped through but Mara pulled back…

- Wait. She extended her hand and her lightsaber flew into it.

They both jumped off, avoiding at the last second a huge chunk of concrete. They tumbled in the grass, landing in a heap, Mara on top of Luke. They turned to see the building topple in itself, and expulsing a cloud of dust and debris, as it came crumbling down.

Well, Mara began with a mischievous look, so much for foreplay.

**AN** – The good news, next time we have sexy time and I'll finally show you why I think this fanfic needed an M rating! The bad news, it's not gonna be for another week, because I'm going on holiday and I'm not sure if I'll have access to the intertubes.

Please please please review or favorite the fic. It'd be lovely to know that my writing doesn't suck, or if it does suck, how can I improve on it?


	21. Control

**Chapter 21 - Control**

_I love the way you look at me  
>I feel the pain you place inside<br>Lock me up inside ya dirty cage  
>While I'm alone inside my mind<br>I like to teach you all the rules  
>I'd get to see them set in stone<br>I like it when you chain me to the bed  
>There ya secrets never shone<br>_

Puddle of mud

Luke slammed his back on the wall as Mara pushed him in the living space.

- Let's try not to demolish any more buildings, he said before she captured his lips in another fierce, primal kiss.

- I'm not promising anything, she said breathless and then kissed him again, letting her tongue struggle against his.

His hands moved up and down her back, caressing and supporting her. Her arms were linked around his neck and she pressed her body against his, driving him crazy. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but it was hard to focus with Mara's tongue free in his mouth, her breasts pressed into his chest and her abdomen rubbing against his, not to mention other body parts that came into contact. She ran her fingernails down his neck, leaving red trails behind. He grabbed her wrist and swung around, pinning her to the wall. He wanted to take a break, catch his breath but she moaned slightly, aroused by his relatively aggressive gesture and all reason flew right out the window. He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her forcefully, pulling apart only for air. She lifted her feet and hooked them around his waist.

- Let's go to bed, she said smiling.

He nearly dropped her on the way there, his mind blurry from desire. But he reached the bed pellet and put her down, kneeling with his legs on either side of her. She sat up and took of her top and then the rest of her clothes. The sight took his breath away. Naked Mara… it's good he was kneeling otherwise his knees would buckle. But in that instant, it all came crashing down.

"This is really happening; this isn't a game or a dream. It's real, and it's dangerous." He was reminded of the dream. The threat of Mara turning on him was still very real, and even if he would somehow make it off the planet how could he look Leia in the eyes, how could he even stand near his father again…

- Luke, please, Mara whispered, sensing his panic.

- What did you say? He asked wide eyed. She cupped his cheeks and whispered against his lips, slightly trembling.

- Please.

He was almost going to chicken out, but then she said the magic word. The woman who had ridiculed and tortured him, was now begging for his attention. He knew he shouldn't feel turned on by that, but he _was_. Maybe she was right. Control definitely felt good. She was kissing his neck gently, and then started nibbling while her nails scratched his back. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her down, covering her body with his.

- No! he said forcefully holding her hands down. No scratching, no biting, no growling. We're not animals.

- Yet…

It would be too easy to get lost in the moment, to give in to his instincts and take what his body screamed for, and maybe it would feel good… but it wasn't what he wanted and it wasn't what she needed. He opened himself up through the Force, just enough to transmit one thought: "We're going to do it _my_ way, or not at all."

She got the message, but whether she would go along with it or kick his ass was still uncertain.

"Let's see what you got." She replied via the same channel and closed her eyes.

He leaned down to kiss her, starting off slow by massaging her lips with his. She opened them up and tried to deepen the kiss but he pulled back. She revolted and tried to get out of his grip but he was holding her wrists tight and her feet were pinned down. She fidgeted and yelped in protest, glaring at him. Luke started to feel like this was more taming then it was love making. But if he really was going to risk everything for her, then it had to be worth it.

Mara calmed down and he kissed her again, this time deeper, finally letting his tongue penetrate her mouth. He ran a hand down her body, enjoying the feel of her smooth hot skin. The girl felt like liquid fire, and tasted like it too. This time she followed his rhythm, but still rebelled by raising her mid section. Luke gasped when he felt her wetness, and almost penetrated her on reflex, but he controlled himself. This was to important. She whimpered disappointed but still followed his lead. His hands and his tongue sent ripples of pleasure through her body, despite the unusual slow rhythm. She still ran her fingernails down his back, but she wasn't as intent on hurting him like before. Somehow they had met somewhere half way between violence and tenderness, between wild things and lovers.

Mara knew before Luke that he couldn't hold it any longer, and she spread her feet to accommodate him. She grabbed his face and made him look at her just as he entered her and reveled in his look of wonder, because she doubted he had felt anything like that in his entire life.

"Poor beautiful loser" she briefly thought, but then concentrated on her own body.

The sensation cut through her, turning her insides into mush. He filled her up completely, and it felt wonderful. He rested his forehead on hers waiting to catch his breath. "Nothing should feel this good" he thought. Each centimeter of her was exquisite, he discovered, tight and soft at the same time. Her interior muscles enveloped him like warm, slippery velvet and reduced him to a quivering wreck.

He noticed her tattoo and a silent fury filled his heart. The truth is Mara wasn't his, and this, whatever it was, wasn't going to last. He pulled out and pushed back in, burying himself completely. His rhythm was now fast and wild, and generated cries of delight from Mara, but she picked up on his change. His head was filled with voices scolding at him:

"She's going to go back to her master. He can have her like this any time he so desires. Look at you, pouring your heart out for a quick romp. You damn idiot" He pumped harder as he got madder. He was glaring at her tattoo and ignored his own pleasure, ignored the bond he had been trying to create.

As Mara came closer and closer to her orgasm, she turned his head and looked into his eyes whispering:

- All we have is right now, and right now I belong to _you_. No one else.

She kissed him and their bodies crashed and burned together, connected in the most intimate of ways. Luke squeezed his eyes shut and exploded insider her, collapsing exhausted beside her body.

He pulled out and rolled over, enjoying the pleasant numbness. He could hear Mara's steady breathing, in the dark silence of the room. He was to scared to think about what had happened, about what it all meant.

All of the sudden he felt an elbow hit him in the ribs.

- Dumbass, Mara spat out in his direction.

- What?

- We wasted days arguing when we could've been doing this.

- Well give me 10 minutes and I'll see what I can do about catching up, he replied with a smirk.

She climbed on top of him.

- You got ten seconds.

**AN:** So much for the sexy time.


	22. Torn

**Chapter 22 – Torn**

_I'm all out of faith,  
>This is how I feel,<br>I'm cold and I am shamed  
><em>_Lying naked on the floor.  
>Illusion never changed<br>into something real.  
>I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn.<br>You're a little late,  
>I'm already torn.<em>

Natalie Imbruglia

_***Flashback***_

The flames danced in the night and the young 13 year old girl watched them, hypnotized. She was sitting motionless on the ground, hugging her knees. She was naked but she did not feel the cool air on her flesh. The light of the fire was reflected in her green eyes, replacing the spark that was usually there.

Her pale skin was covered in bruises and scratches and some of her wounds were still bleeding but she didn't feel any pain. The allure of the fire, the smell of death and destruction managed to numb the pain, and she realized that she was no longer a little girl. She was now a sith, and she was going to burn down and kill everything and everyone that ever hurt her.

The fire cleansed her soul of fear and set her free.

Somewhere behind her a ship landed, causing a current that made her shiver slightly. After a few minutes, her Master came and sat down beside her, covering her with a blanket. Together they watched the fire consume what was left of a small bungalow. The man inspected the girl, noticing the teeth marks on her neck and small breasts. She also had a black eye and there were purple marks on her wrists, no doubt so more bruises in hard to see places, but all in all she was alright. She had made it through, and managed to destroy her attackers at the same time. The fire was an unexpected twist, but not unwelcomed.

He put his arm around her shoulders and brought her head to his chest, hugging her.

- My beautiful Mara, he whispered kissing the top of her head. To hurt you is to love you…

She closed her eyes and listened to her master's heart beat for a while, before turning back to look at the flames consuming everything in their path, turning all her pain to ashes.

_..._

"So this is what all those poets were talking about. Not to shabby" Luke Skywalker thought. He was staring at the sky, half covered by the gas giant the small moon was orbiting. He was sitting on the window frame. Mara had fallen asleep but he was too hyped to sleep. He felt hyped, excited… alive. But more then anything he felt like he finally got it. Like he finally knew why he should be a Jedi. Because there was so much beauty in the world, and somebody had to protect it. Somebody had to fight in order for life to continue in all it's splendor. And having not felt that before, he couldn't relate to sense of duty a jedi must have, but since that splendor had touched him, in the form of a young sith woman… he could now be a hero. He _wanted_ to be the hero.

Mara's eyes fluttered open but closed again. She was waking up, but she was taking her time doing it, enjoying the restful sleep of the sated. Luke felt her consciousness emerging and left the place by the window where he had been sitting. He rested beside her, head on his folded arm, watching her. She finally opened her eyes and saw him. She yawned and then stretched her arms.

- You need a shave, she pointed out mid-yawn.

- I know, he said rubbing his chin

She propped herself up on her elbows looking around the room. She moved a couple of logs in a pile using the force and then set them on fire. By the light of the fire Luke saw a couple of small marks on her right shoulder, that looked like teeth marks.

- Oh no, he said with concern, rubbing her shoulder. Did I do that? Let me fix it…

- No. I like it, she said smiling, pushing his hand away. Besides, it's nothing compared to your right cheek.

He rubbed his right cheek but didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, except his stubble.

- Not _that_ cheek, she said with a smirk.

He looked at her puzzled but then realized what she meant…

- When did _that_ happen?

- Somewhere between the third and fourth orgasm, she added up and then leaned in for a kiss, not desperate and feral like before, but rather slow and inquisitive. Even so, Luke could feel the familiar heat in the pit of his stomach and knew that he had to pull away before drowning in it again.

He needed to think but he couldn't think straight around her. Ever since he met the Sith woman, his life had been turned completely upside down .She challenged every single thing he knew about his life and his place, everything about the Universe, everything about everything. And yet in the center of it all there was an undeniable clarity. As if the Force itself whispered to and through him.

- This must've happened for a reason, he breathed.

- A couple of million reasons actually, Mara said slightly iritated. They're called hormones.

- It was more then that.

- Maybe that's what you need to tell yourself so that you don't feel guilty.

- I have nothing to feel guilty about. I made a choice and so did you. You were the one who came looking for something.

- And you think you can give it to me? She asked sarcastically.

- As soon as you tell me what it is. And it's not just sex, because you have your master for that…

Mara swung around to slap him but he caught her hand just in time.

- Don't you dare talk about my master, she said menacingly.

- I'm not scared of him. And neither should you. He released her hand and prepared to say something but she interrupted him.

- I'm not scared of _anything_. Fear is my ally. It was a lesson that my master taught me well. We must all face our greatest fear.

- And did you?

- Yes. A long time ago… It taught me I could live through anything, do anything and that everything will eventually turn to shit, so you might as well enjoy life while you can. She remained silent for a while but then suddenly her eyes grew wide and she grabbed his arm. Wanna hear how it happened?

- What? No! he said snatching his arm away.

She had a strange smile on her face, a weird look in her eyes that disturbed Luke. She hugged him warmly and then began whispering in his ear:

- My master hired 3 mercenaries on Nar Shadaa to kidnap me and take me to a deserted planet. I didn't know what was going on. They tied me to the bed…

- Mara, please stop it, he said trying to push her away gently but she resisted. Why are you doing this? She backed him up into a wall, and clinged to him, whispering her sordid tale.

- The room smelled of cheap corellian ale. They ripped my dress off of me. I wasn't even drugged, I could feel everything… every single touch and bite and scratch.

- Stop it, he said again, forcefully this time. It was all turning into a nightmare. Her mind was a mess but there was a deep ache inside her soul that reached out to him.

- 3 overgrown aliens with one little girl. We partied all night long… You would've liked to see that, wouldn't you?

- No! he said on reflex, sickened.

Mara lowered her hand to stroke his genitals.

- Sure you would. Look at you you're getting hard just thinking about it… You would've loved to be there, getting off in that cheap, mangy room smelling of ale and blood…

- I said _stop it_!

He couldn't control it. His distress and anger caused a massive discharge of energy that propelled Mara's body into a nearby wall. She slid down to the floor, seemingly unconscious. It took the Jedi a couple of seconds to clear his head, but as soon as he saw Mara slumped down against the wall, he rushed to her side.

- Mara, he said picking her up in his arms. I'm so sorry. He placed her head on his chest and held her tightly.

She muttered something quietly, and he had to concentrate to understand.

- To hurt me is to love me, she murmured. To hurt me is to love me…

She repeated it over and over again, like a mantra, and it was tearing at his soul.

- No, he whispered, that's not true. I would never hurt you like that. I promise.

She continued to say the words, while he rocked her body, kissing her on the top of her head. He tried to soothe her pain, but there was so much, and she wouldn't let go of it. She loved that pain, because it was the source of her power. It was her reason to hate the whole universe. His efforts however weren't going unnoticed. Although Mara was lost inside her head but she could feel him beside her. She broke down and cried openly in his arms. Luke wish he could weep with her, but he wasn't there yet. He couldn't open himself up like that yet. All he could do was offer his support.

- I will never hurt you, he said again tightening his grip on her.

He held her much like her master had held once, the only difference being that in his arms she felt safe.

**AN **– Okey, this was pretty dark. I was one sick cookie in my early 20's to think about this kind of stuff. But then again I think it explains pretty well where Mara is coming from, how she embraced being a Sith and all that.


	23. Black Coffee

**Chapter 23 – Black Coffee**

_She smelled like flowers, she tastes like toffee  
>She kissed me slowly, she held me softly<br>Got too close and she backed up off me  
>Left me stone cold sober just like black coffee<br>Just like black coffee_

Everlast

Luke woke up to the sight of two sparkling eyes staring back at him. He smiled and Mara smiled back to him.

Then he felt a metal touch on his skin and barely had time to react before Mara activated her lightsaber and the blade of energy pierced his abdomen. Luke's scream reverberated throught the jungle. The energy blade burned away most of his nerves and cauterized the wound. Mara turned off her lightsaber and then pushed Skywalker on his stomach, jumping on his thighs, straddling him.

- Ouch, she said looking down at his wound. Luke just gulped and tried to focus on controlling his trembling, his body was going into shock. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and he couldn't bring himself to face his emotions, intense feelings of hurt and betrayal.

- Oh don't act surprised, Mara purred. Cause if you're surprised then you might start to cry, and then, gasp, I might start to cry. She stopped and looked at him, changing her expression from cheerful to serious. So maybe I needed a good cry. Doesn't change who or what I am.

- No, he whispered weakly. Only you can do that.

- But I don't want to, she leaned down and put a finger on his lips. This was never going to end like a fairy tale. I _am_ the villain of the story. If it's any consolation, you were a real good fuck.

- I've had better…

She started to laugh, and it was a good, honest laugh, making her whole being shake and light up.

- Now you're just talking crazy, jedi.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and climbed off his body. She got up, got dressed and left the room. Somewhere in the distance Luke heard the shuttle taking off. Before blacking out he whispered one word:

_Leia… _

**...**

The pilot confessed to Han and Leia he brought his passenger to an outer rim system, Besered. It was out of the way of all the major commercial routes. There was Besered, the star, and a couple of gas giants around it. It took the Falcon over 28 hours to reach it.

Luke had gone missing for close to a week now.

- What is it? Han asked the Jedi, concerned. You feeling something?

- Yes… we're getting closer. He's alive but…

- What? Is he hurt?

- I can't tell. Our bond is… difficult to describe. I feel what he feels to a certain degree, and right now all I'm picking up is... _nevermind._

- What?

- Nevermind! He's alive and well, that's all you need to know.

- Alright, don't get your panties in a twist.

- How much longer till we reach Besered?

- An hour, maybe two.

- Fine, I'm going in the back to change. Try not to hit any planets.

- Very funny. You should've been a comedian.

Leia retreated to one of the living areas, took her clothes off and jumped in the shower. She turned on the freezing cold water.

2 hours later, all cleaned up and dried up, she joined the droids in the commissary. R2D2 was playing a chess game with Chewbacca… and the little droid was winning. The wookie wasn't particularly happy with the situation.

- You should be careful playing that game, Leia warned him.

- Miss Skywalker, it is not my counterpart's fault if he's a better player then our opponent over here. Why should he censure ourselves?

- Maybe because Chewie is about four times his size and this is _his_ ship_ and_ you are stoaways, she cleverly pointed out.

- Oh. R2D2. New strategy: let the wookie win.

The astromec let out a few affirmative whistles and Chewbacca crossed his arms, satisfied.

Leia smiled and went back to the cockpit. The Falcon had dropped out of hyperspace. She could see the red giant that was Beresed, and it's gas giants, orbiting around it. Luke was close by. Han ran some scans and didn't detect any ships… but there was some debris.

- I'm picking up debris, and residual energy. I think something blew up here.

Leia nodded, concern showing on her face.

- Luke was here… and he's alive. Maybe we should… ARGHHH!

The Jedi gripped her right side and feel to the metal floor, screaming in pain. Han jumped out of his chair to catch her. She crawled up in a fetal position and winced in pain.

- Leia! What's happening. Chewie! Get a medikit in here! NOW! Leia… let me see.

Han tore her hands off her stomach to see if she was hurt, but there was no wound.

- It's Luke, she said looking up teary eyed. Her eyes were teary and she looked like she was going through terrible pain. I can feel it… He's hurt. He's dying Han. He's _dying._

**AN**_ - _Back from my holiday, quickly uploaded these last three chapters. This one I am most unhappy with because the transition from "fucked up" Mara to "still evil and liking it" Mara was to short. I may come back and re-edit it._  
><em>


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